Moving In
by these dreams go on
Summary: A series of drabbles detailing Katherine's new life as she settles down in New Orleans to begin her relationship with Elijah. Continuing on from my stories New Paths and New Lives.
1. The First Day

A/N- Hello all Kalijah fans out there! Yes I see you and here is a series dedicated to Elijah and Katherine being in love and sappy as they build a life together in New Orleans.

This story takes place after my story New Paths and New Lives so to fill in newcomers- Katherine is human but dived into a Fountain of Youth so aging isn't an issue but otherwise she is unsure of any other benefits she might have. Also the Original Family lives in a townhouse above a restaurant on Conti Street which they bought when they first moved back into the French Quarter and Marcel still held the manor on Bourbon St.

Also I would like to state my complete and utter disappointment that the Caroline and Tyler ship is not called Fockwood or Cockwood- You shippers missed a golden opportunity there :(

* * *

The morning brought a myriad of sensations for Katerina Petrova.

First it was the sensation of being lifted from the world of sleep to a state of wakefulness.

Then it was the feeling of the thousand count Egyptian cotton sheets pressed against her naked skin, the back of her bare thighs and her breasts against the mattress. The sheets are weighed down by a cover of the finest Merino wool, threaded with twenty-two carat gold thread, luxuriously backed with a silk jacquard, because heaven forbid anything but the finest indulgence man can make.

Finally it was the sensation of a warm, large hand stroking her back.

Calloused but gentle fingers make a lazy path up and down her skin, trailing the expanse of her exposed to the warm, sunlit room and slipping under the three thousand pound bedding to stop just before the small of her back.

Her body hums with pleasure at the sensation even as her mind waits anxiously for the chill of the small band of silver on the left ring finger, an old silver that would have long since been tarnished if not for the care of its wearer, with two small nicks in the band caused by an event probably long forgotten.

A ring she has only studied once and has just enough familiarity with to recognise. When the hand turns over and the back of the fingers placidly trace her spine, the silver notes the bumps and curve of her bones and she relaxes.

With a quiet sigh she banishes the last remnant of sleep and opens an eye, setting her gaze on the man only a few inches away from her.

He is leaning an elbow on the pillows, his warm brown eyes watching her, his dark hair tousled by sleep but his face carefree as it can only be early in the morning in the sanctity of the bedroom. There is only a hint of a smile on his face but he is not an expressive man, he is often too burdened by worries or distracted by his thoughts to fully experience the moment.

She shifts so that she can reach up and brush her thumb against his temple, from his hairline down to the small lines around his eyes, his eyelids flicker closed and she can see how tiring the events of the last few weeks have been on him.

Gently she coaxes him down to kiss him and his hand leaves her back and strokes her stomach,

"Good morning my lord" she yawns and the smallest smile graces his mouth, he's obviously more enchanted with her human exhaustion than she is.

"Good morning my darling" he responds, his eyes gazing deep into hers before he lowers his head and kisses her again, his fingers circling her belly button before snaking up to her right rib and pressing lightly against her side.

Understanding his unspoken instruction, she sinks back against the pillows, rolling onto her back as he slid across and hovered above her.

"How are you this morning?" he asks with a gentle whisper and she smirks in reply, understanding the full extent of the question. She lifts her head and gives him a lingering kiss as she opens her legs.

He settles between her thighs, propping himself on his elbows to make sure he didn't crush her and rests his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and losing himself in her scent before he tenderly kisses her.

She shivers in delight at the sensation of his lips against hers, always gentle, always searching and always pulling back with the tiniest of touches that leaves her hungering for more. She takes the moment to breathe while he kisses her cheek and then along her jaw, pecking her chin before she tilts her head to capture his mouth again.

She rubs her body against his and gasps at the heat that flushes her chest and thighs.

Five hundred years of vampirism and she'd forgotten how the living human body reacted to arousal.

She breaks the kiss to gasp and grabbed his shoulders as he cupped her foot with one hand and then wrapped her leg up around his waist. She can feel him pressing against her thigh and he has one free hand running up and down her body, petting and fondling.

"Elijah" she nips at his earlobe, "_Now_"

He chuckles breathlessly against her neck, "Yes my darling"

She moans when he enters her, carefully and softly as all his actions are towards her but none the less pleasurable. She kicks the coverings down the bed to try and cool herself down and shifts to make herself more comfortable.

As she'd discovered last night, the human body tends to cramp during the most inopportune times.

She kisses his shoulder and strokes his chest, before circling her arms over his broad back and trailing her fingers over his own spine.

"My lord and love" she whispers in his ear as he angles himself to thrust deeper and she feels how easily he moves within her, coated by her arousal and her deceptive softness.

She listens to his breathing, his sweet nothings murmured in her ear, she shifts her hips and leaves kitten scratches on his back as she sweeps down and grips his ass. She listens for his gasp, her name moaned in her ear and feels him falter and lose his pace when the sensations overwhelm him.

They are still learning each other, still mapping each other's bodies and discovering what it is that makes them go from slightly aroused to completely over the edge and incapable of speech.

Five hundred years but they've only had one night together like this. One night and now one morning- the beginning of many hopefully.

She feels her body tightening, her breathing quicken, she's coiling like a spring, heading to the edge and…

"Oh…_Elijah_!"

He follows her over, finishing with a shudder and pulls her close to him, being sure to roll them over so she's draped over him and wrapped up in his arms.

She trembles with the aftershock and waits until her vision clears before brushing her hair back over her shoulder, catching her breath and pressing a kiss to his chest.

He runs his fingers through her curls and nestles her head under his chin, making sure she's comfortable.

They lay there in contented silence until he begins chuckling, his shoulders shaking lightly with his humour.

"Your heart is so loud" he tells her, "I can almost feel it pounding away under your breast"

She smirks and runs her nails lightly down his chest, "Congratulations, you have confirmed proof that Katerina Petrova does have a heart. Many a vampire and witch has debated vehemently that I don't"

He smiles, "Don't worry, if you don't expose my heart I shan't expose yours"

The promise is made in jest but she appreciates it all the same, pressing a kiss to his skin and settling down to rest.

At least until she catches the scent of sex and sweat on her body and nearly gags.

"Okay" she pushes herself up and slides out from between the covers, throwing her legs off the bed and looking about the room for her clothes,

"I need to shower right _now_"

Elijah frowns at the sudden loss of intimacy, "You showered last night"

"Yes and then proceeded to have sex several times, _how_ are you still conscious? I can smell myself without even trying"

"Hmmm" he follows her to the chest of drawers where he unpacked and folded away her small suitcase of belongings last night, embracing her from behind as she rummages through her few outfits trying to decide what to wear,

"You're human and smell alive"

She scoffs, "You've either lost your olfactory senses or forgotten how _little_ vampires reek after sex. I'm getting flashbacks to Bulgarian winter, I smell like the daughter of a horse merchant"

"You are the daughter of a horse merchant" he points out.

"Except now I have easy, immediate access to hot water and soap. And I intend to take full advantage of that"

She settles on black skinny jeans and a red silk blouse, tossing them onto the bed she pads across to the ensuite bathroom, "

You can join me if you must but it won't be pretty"

He shakes his head with a rueful smile, "The romance lasted a single night"

She giggles and turns on the shower, running her hand under the water and waiting for it to heat up, "It was a good night though"

"The very best" he agrees.

* * *

Katerina washed her hair barely twelve hours ago but washes it again before realising that her curling iron is back in Mystic Falls.

Along with her make-up and other necessary toiletries.

She curses but when she opens the bathroom cabinet to see what is on hand she finds her miniature hair dryer and brush sitting on the shelf, completely out of place amongst Elijah's high-end colognes, soaps and hair products.

He'd had the sense to pack the very basics at least.

A few days ago, Katherine had misinterpreted a call between Elijah and his brother Klaus- her long time arch nemesis- and fled to Mexico before he had found her and brought her back to New Orleans so they could reconcile and properly begin their relationship.

Unfortunately when she had run she'd done so with only the bare minimum, her wallet, passport, a set of clothes she had borrowed from Elena and a luxury watch stolen from Damon that Elijah had since appropriated.

Elijah had allowed himself a little more time than she when he made his exit from the small town, concluding business with the Salvatore brothers and going to the house she had been renting to try and determine where she had run to.

Needless to say he hadn't been happy to find out the love of his life had once again fled from him and had been in quite the temper when he recovered her in Yucatan.

Still, it was good of him to have packed her a suitcase when she fled Mystic Falls. She dries her hair and decides to leave it out and untreated for what must be the first time in centuries, wandering back into the bedroom in her black lace lingerie and receiving a lingering kiss from Elijah as he brushes past her to climb into the shower.

Sitting on the bed and noting with surprise that the sheets have already been changed, she takes a breath and finally allows herself time to think.

An entire season hasn't even passed since she became human and her life altered endlessly as she fought to adjust in her ever changing world.

She gazes out the window at the sun soaked street in the heart of the French Quarter. It is mid-morning of her first real day in New Orleans and she should probably hit the ground running.

She had so much to do.

She needed to figure out what exactly her pardon from Klaus entailed, which supernatural creatures in Louisiana were her enemies or willing to kill her to appease her enemies, find a decent salon for her weekly hair treatments, call Mystic Falls and make sure Stefan Salvatore was alive and, top priority- buy herself some new makeup and perfumes.

Her stomach interrupted her thoughts then with a grumble which reminded her that she also needed to have some breakfast.

No matter how hungry she was, there was no way she was wandering around Klaus' home without Elijah as backup.

So she contents herself with rummaging through his drawers, observing his various possessions but ensuring that she didn't misplace them in any way.

She knew Elijah's peculiarities regarding cleanliness and attention to detail.

He comes out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his hips and she blatantly stares at him as he gets dressed,

"If you don't slow your heartbeat Katerina I shan't let you out of this room" he teases and she shrugs, "You know me Elijah, I do admire the _finer_ things in life"

He slips his tie under his collar and turns to her just as she slides to her feet in her high heel boots and finishes the process with a perfect Windsor knot.

He opens his mouth to say something but stops short when she sways on her feet and rests her forehead on his shirt,

"Okay…I need to eat before I experience my first real swoon since fourteen ninety-one"

"Of course, forgive me, I'd forgotten how troublesome hunger is"

Hesitantly he reaches down and takes her hand, linking his fingers through hers and guiding her through the bedroom door, down the tiny landing to the stairs leading to the kitchen.

At first glance of the living area she can see that nobody appears to be home, and the second glance really surprises her.

The dining table is laden with breakfast food, a veritable buffet of cut fruit, cold meats, pastries and juices. Frowning and wondering if she should head back upstairs to find an emerald before touching any of the food she turns to Elijah as he picks up an embossed card,

"Brother," he reads, "Gone out, will return by sundown"

He sighs and tosses the card down, "Niklaus can be so eloquent when writing a shopping list but ask him to elaborate on his plans and it is more difficult than pulling teeth with a flower"

She hums noncommittally and takes a seat before filling her plate, "Do you think I should wait until an hour after you've eaten before consuming any of this food?"

Her stomach rumbles again and he shakes his head, "I'm worried you won't last that long"

She admits defeat and enjoys the food before her whilst Elijah reads the newspaper, taking her time because she wants to delay the inevitable, she doesn't know what will come next and doesn't enjoy the lack of foresight.

Her bliss from this morning is diminished, her mind anxious to plan and scheme but unaware of the lay of the land around her.

She swallows the last slice of mango and pushes back her chair, moving around the table and draping an arm around Elijah's shoulder, propping her chin on his head.

Seduction is her go-to technique.

Her every action, her walk, the tilt of her head, the way she holds herself, even her speech has been perfected over the centuries to fascinate those around her.

Her natural grace buried under artifice until she became less a woman and more of a prize, a trophy to be caught and gloried over, not a woman to be loved.

Elijah lifts her hand to his mouth and kisses it absently, "Better?"

"Much"

She tickles his neck, breathing in his ear "Shall we go back upstairs my lord?"

The tiniest frown creases his forehead, "I thought perhaps we could go for a walk? See the Quarter and enjoy the bright day"

Katerina tenses and tries to determine what Elijah's motivations are.

Does he want to show her off?

Display his power in New Orleans?

Make her aware of how much she is at his mercy?

He senses her hesitation and twists in his chair as she withdraws to grant him freedom of movement. He gazes up at her and she knows that she is foolishly allowing her vulnerability to show.

"I have no ulterior motives Ekaterina. I wish only to spend the day with you"

He stands up and closes the short distance between them, cupping her cheek in his palm.

"I promise that I did not lie when I told you that you would be safe here. That I would not harm you"

She nods and steps back, "Okay then, let's walk"

He leads her out onto the wrap around veranda of the luxury apartment above the restaurant on the corner of Conti St, they have a separate residential entrance and catch the eye of some envious tourists as they slip through the ironwork gate.

Elijah reaches to rest his hand on her lower back, to guide her to Bourbon Street but she feigns ignorance and starts striding down Conti Street, away from the heart of the supernatural kingdom, towards the river.

He falls into step beside her and she links her arm though his affectionately.

They move along the street easily, admiring the architecture, ignoring the delivery trucks and promising themselves a private tour of the Louisiana Supreme Court House on the way back home.

"I do enjoy the creole townhouse design" Katerina noted, "I appreciate the idea of being able to sit on the veranda and people watch all day long"

Elijah murmured in agreement, "Although I do wish we had a garden, sometimes the manor doesn't seem large enough"

Walking arm in arm, chatting lightly, Katerina realises that they don't look like two of the most notorious supernatural creatures in existence.

Any ignorant human on the street would assume they were merely an ordinary couple, any second glances they did receive was due to their attractiveness, or because without make-up on, the age difference between the two of them was apparent.

They cross Chartres Street and find themselves moving away from the wealth down to the converted warehouses which might be spacious on the inside but had faded exteriors with graffiti and grated windows.

She relishes this moment of anonymity and presses herself closer to Elijah's side as they finally emerge out into Bienville Place, the salt and silt of the Mississippi river in their noses as they walk into Woldenberg Park and she doesn't stop until they reach the railing overlooking the water.

She braces herself against it, closes her eyes, pretends for a moment that it is the Tundzha River that she can smell and then banishes the nostalgia.

Her life belonged to the present and the future, not the past.

She turns and studies the area around them.

It must be a work day because the park is devoid of people.

The sunlight dappling through fully grown, healthy trees, the soft green grass tickling her feet and the polished park benches dotted along the red brick path and white washed stairs.

The déjà vu hits her, she stood in an expanse of green with Elijah once before.

Before she realises, she's reaching down and unzipping her boots, leaving them under a park bench, when she turns around she can see the hopeful anticipation in his eyes.

"Shall we play my lord?"

She runs, her feet flying across the grass as Elijah gives chase, staying close but always letting her move just out of reach as they darted through the park.

Katerina is enjoying the moment so much that she forgets everything but the feel of dirt under her feet, the wind through her hair and the sunshine dancing in her eyes.

For the first time in centuries, she doesn't care that her movements are clumsy, that her laughter isn't seductive, her lack of make-up betrays her youthful face and without her boots on her body isn't on its best display.

And when she begins to tire, she finally slows down enough for Elijah to catch her. 

* * *

*During the Middle Ages/Renaissance emeralds were believed to be effective against poison (they aren't, if you are poisoned by an enemy please go to the hospital)

A/N- I will be switching between the names Katerina Petrova and Katherine Pierce throughout the series, Katerina will be used when she feels safe to let her true self show and be vulnerable, Katherine is the persona she shows the world to protect herself, the vampiress who seduced the Salvatore men and was notorious for her crimes. Also Elijah will be fluctuating between three names, Ekaterina as the utmost endearment, Katerina for typical, everyday use and Katherine when he is angry with her or discussing her with strangers he does not trust.


	2. Routines

A/N- Hello my lovelies.  
So some history for new readers out there. I mentioned in New Paths that Klaus converted to monotheistic religion, so that should hopefully avoid confusion. Also he's not mentioned in this chapter but as I wrote my last saga before we discovered the gender of baby Klayley, I chose for them to have a boy- baby Erik. He may feature in passing in this story.  
Thank-you to all my favouriters and followers.

* * *

Routine.

A set of customary and often mechanically performed procedures or activities.

Elijah hadn't developed anything beyond the most basic of routines for his thousand years of living, the family had moved about too often in too many different locations for many habits to have taken hold.

Now however, he was in New Orleans with his family and the woman he loved. His father was dead and his enemies were either weak or destroyed.

He was safe and could finally indulge in what he wanted.

Or _almost_.

The longer a vampire lived, the less sleep they required. Even young vampires generally went to bed at night only out of habit, still stuck in the human belief that the dark was a time for rest not for play.

An Original rarely slept seven nights a week, if their enemies were moving against them they could go days without rest and use the night as easily as the day to win the battle.

After one thousand years they simply did not need sleep when a little downtime, some quiet moments would suffice instead.

Katerina on the other hand, now that she was human, liked to go to be in bed by midnight on a regular day and refused to even consider getting up before eight unless it was for a hair appointment.

So when the sun rose in the morning and Elijah wanted to rise with it and enjoy every hour of the second day with the woman he loved, he tried waking her with butterfly kisses and found himself being rejected with a half-asleep frown.

"Are the Ottomans coming?" she asked as her hand rubbed his chest.

He blinked in understandable confusion,

"No my darling" he assured her, "Even if they were I would _never_ let them take you"

She huffed and rolled over, adjusting her pillow and settling back down to sleep,

"I only get out of bed at this hour if I'm being attacked by Ottomans or Klaus- and only if Klaus is _really_ planning to kill me"

He sat back bemused and checked his watch, in fairness, perhaps five past six in the morning was a little early.

So to pass the time he snuck into his brother's room, woke Niklaus by covering his face with a pillow and 'borrowed' a novel on the way out.

He supposes he can adjust his routine of rising early to suit Katerina.

* * *

Indoor plumbing is the most marvellous invention mankind has ever created.

When Elijah was human, bathing was an act that meant going for a swim in the quarry and in the winter it was reduced to a bucket of water that had to be left by the fire for an hour to be warm enough to wash with.

As a vampire, less prone to suffering from the cold he could bathe weekly if he wished, but for many centuries those around him considered such an idea absurd.

There is _nothing_ worse for a vampire than being surrounded by people who haven't washed properly for the better part of a year and consider perfume an appropriate substitute.

The stench was positively painful sometimes.

But with the advance of indoor plumbing…oh the wonders of indoor plumbing.

Hot water makes the process heavenly but he could shower with icy blast if need be.

He would probably have to if Katerina used the shower.

Instead she prefers to bathe.

When she does finally wake in the morning, she is always first into the bathroom, he rises before her but somehow she lays claim to it before him and runs herself a bath.

Katerina washes herself with rose otto oil that she orders direct from Bulgaria, it is obscenely expensive and Elijah wonders that there is any damask roses_ left _in Kazanlak considering all the bottles of oil that is being shipped directly to his doorstep but when the wondrous scent reaches his nose and the image of his lover splashing in the water as she rubs the washcloth over her fair skin…

He really doesn't mind waiting until she is finished with the bathroom, not when he gets to wrap his arms around her as he moves past, his lips pressed against hers for a lingering kiss as her skin tastes divine...

It might be worth contemplating adding cold showers to his routine.

* * *

When he climbs out of the shower, wraps a towel around his waist and pads back into the bedroom it is to find Katerina contemplating his wardrobe, casually picking out his clothes for the day.

They never discussed this but somehow every morning, without him having any say, his lover will lay a suit on the bed for him as he draws on his pants and styles his hair and then dress him.

She buttons his shirt, knots his tie, she simply _can't_ be trusted with the fly of his pants because despite her attempt to feign innocence her fingers always brushed his crotch numerous times in direct threat to his dignity.

Finally, she will clasp his cufflinks and he'll be ready for the day.

At the end of the day, when she is tired and ready for bed, he'll sit her down and unlace, unzip, unbuckle or unstrap whatever monstrosity of high heeled shoe she has chosen to wear that day.

Grinning at her sigh of relief when she can place bare feet on their carpet, next he will take her jewellery off her wrists or neck, placing it back in the correct boxes, laying a kiss there before ushering her to her feet so he can zip her dress or slip her top off, if she is wearing pants he'll have his revenge for the morning by undoing the button or zip whilst stroking the flesh above the fabric but he doesn't try to ease her pants off her legs.

The pants she wears are skin tight and whilst he is a true admirer of how wonderfully the material presents her gorgeous body, it baffles him how she gets them on or off.

This routine they practise is more one of devotion than of seduction, a time when not many words are spoken but the gestures communicate endlessly.

Her choice of suit in the morning is her way of saying 'I care about you'

When he slips her shoes off her feet and squeezes the sole tenderly he is saying, 'You can rest now'

Katerina brushing her fingers over his pants as she pretends to struggle with the zipper,  
'I desire you'

When his hands- innocently of course- stroke her bare flesh after her dress or top comes off, 'Now, my darling'

He realises that a great portion of their day is emotional foreplay.

* * *

Consumption of food is another routine that is quickly developed upon Katerina settling into the French Quarter.

Of course for him eating is something that is done for the pleasure of the experience or to be polite, sometimes it is used for ceremony, never does he require it for nourishment.

Katerina requires three square meals a day- or insists she does lest her hunger cause her to become 'a _totally_ homicidal bitch'.

Elijah is happy to heed that warning.

Yet food was a strange commodity in the Mikaelson household. They did not need it for sustenance and preferred to consume it in small quantities.

As such, they had gone weeks, sometimes months without ever seeing so much as a stick of butter in their larder.

Now, however, every morning Elijah sees to it that fresh fruit and a range of pastries is delivered to their door so he can make breakfast for Katerina, slicing the fruit and preparing a pot of coffee and carafe of juice whilst she finds the newspapers Klaus has already read but always leaves in a different place, sometimes hiding them on top of bookshelves or under couch pillows just to vex them.

They settle down at the table and he reads the paper whilst she eats and then figure out what they wish to do that day.

Elijah doesn't really have a job, not one that goes from nine-to-five and which rewards him every two weeks with a pay cheque.

Those who have to sit at a desk for eight hours a day would not consider what he does to be _work_ at all.

For everyday he does something different.

Recently he has been overlooking the restoration of the manor on Bourbon Street, having been absolutely horrified to see the level of decrepitude it had been allowed to fall into.

So every morning he and Katerina will walk the short distance from Conti Street to the manor and she'll leave him with the contractors while she goes off on her own to 'run errands' or 'do business'.

It sounds to him an awful lot like she's building a criminal empire or conspiring in such a manner as to make a Medici sit up and take notice but she claims she's just doing feminine things so he doesn't worry and she'll be back around just after midday so that they can get lunch together.

This is a routine he enjoys thoroughly, every day they try a new restaurant, venturing all over the city and trying every cuisine on offer.

Holding hands, chatting inanely, playing tourists in their own town, it isn't until he overhears a few of the builders talking about his 'hot girlfriend' that he realises that this routine could be construed as a date.

He's never been on a date before.

He enjoys them.

He especially enjoys afterwards when they walk or catch a streetcar back to the manor on Bourbon St, Katerina will take his hand, lead him to the study on the second floor or his old bedroom, push him onto a flat surface, straddle him and proceed to kiss him senseless.

Sometimes this goes on for hours, sometimes five minutes before Elijah hears one of the contractors about to damage two hundred year old wood panelling and has to get back to work but it always happens without fail.

Dinner is a routine they haven't been able to cement yet.

Sometimes it takes place in their home, other times Katerina will eat alone because he won't be back in time, occasionally Klaus will even join her for dinner and make brisk conversation designed for unnerving rather than socialisation.

He is always annoyed with business, be it human or supernatural, causes him to miss dinner with the woman he loves but he absolutely refuses to not be home by midnight to join Katerina in bed.

Once he did not make it back in time, through no fault of his own- he had been staked and daggered by amateur vampire hunters- but when he did finally climb the stairs and slip into their bedroom it was to find the lights still on and Katerina dozing on the windowsill, waiting for him.

They never go to bed without one another.

Even on Saturday nights when the French Quarter comes alive for the third night in a row, with the locals bar hopping up and down the streets surrounding Bourbon but rarely walking down that main tourist trap.

The supernatural factions will come together for the night, either at an expensive charity function designed to show off their power and prestige or at a bar where they can fill capacity and socialise without worry of being overseen or overheard by outsiders.

Around midnight he and Katerina will usually be separated when she goes dancing with the sycophants who are so ready to befriend his lover, he will remain at the tables or the bar with his acquaintances, in discussion but with one eye on the beautiful minx who so easily attracts the male and female gaze on the dance floor.

By six am the bar will typically be out of top shelf liquor and Katerina will have settled herself on his lap and begun whispering seductively in his ear, which leads to the routine of him getting them home as quickly as possible- usually with vampiric speed- and they will take a long, hot shower together in which they never seem to release each other long enough to worry about getting clean.

* * *

Unfortunately they don't get to spend Sunday in bed, in fact once they're out of the shower they have to get dressed and ready for church.

Katerina was bewildered when he first explained that the Originals were regular attendees at St Anne's Church for Sunday Mass and asked her to accompany them, after all Elijah had been born and raised in the Norse religion, Klaus had converted to Catholicism at the behest of Cesare Borgia but was for all intents and purposes lapsed and she was Bulgarian Orthodox but had abandoned her religion back in 1498.

However, he elucidates that attendance is less for religious purposes as it is a requirement for the leaders of the community to show their support for this centrepiece in the Quarter. A chance to see, to be seen and to maintain good relations with the other factions.

So with a relenting sigh, his lover drapes a white lace mantilla over her beautiful curls, presenting the image of a pious beauty as opposed to a woman who just an hour or so earlier was indulging in ever hedonistic pleasure that took her fancy and will sit in the front row between Niklaus and himself, pretending to listen as Father Kieran is reading from the Holy Scripture whilst more likely she daydreaming about her next pair of shoes.

These are simple, everyday activities that people all over New Orleans performed with apathy or reluctance, unaware or failing to consider those routines as anything particularly special or worthy of notice.

But Elijah treasures every last one of them.

* * *

A/N- Also I am taking suggestions for this story, if there is anything you would like me to cover, PM me or stick it in the reviews.

Next chapter- The Originals decide that their current home is too small and Katherine and Elijah go house hunting.


	3. Relocation

A/N- So in the interest of procrastination I did check out some houses in New Orleans, all in the six figure category and picked the rooms I liked the most, jumbling them together in a lovely house for the Original family, I'm not sure how to link up the pictures without giving my identity away through my account on Pinterest but when I can I shall do so.

* * *

The house on Conti Street was beautiful. Situated above a restaurant but with separate entrances and no noise pollution it was equipped with new technology and furnished with turn of the century architecture and design.

It was a perfect…

Bachelor Pad.

There was really no beating around the bush, it was a great house for two adults or three adults and one new born who wouldn't notice the tiny excuse for a nursery but it was a house of narrow halls, large but few rooms and a staircase that had already seen too many accidents.

And the bedrooms…

Katerina was the daughter of a fifteenth Bulgarian horse trader from a tiny village in the hills and she had grown up with a bigger bedroom- granted she'd shared with her sister- but these rooms were _tiny_.

She loved Elijah but every morning they essentially had to climb over each other to get dressed and even the fewest items left out could render the room impossible to navigate.

This morning she had given up trying to dress him and fallen back onto the bed with a sigh,

"This house is far too small" he notes with displeasure as he knots his tie, "I think we need to relocate"

That statement gets her interest, "To Bourbon St?"

He shakes his head, "No, the manor on Bourbon St is a nightclub three nights a week and where Niklaus holds court or slaughters his enemies, hardly the most ideal situation to be raising a child in" he paused and turned around, lacing his fingers around her ankle and tugging her back down the bed towards him, she went with an easy smile,

"I shall speak to my brother now but perhaps…" he pauses and tickles the sole of her foot, eliciting laughter "The Garden District?"

She rolls her eyes, "Elitist"

He shrugs and kisses her arch before releasing her, "We're the closest thing New Orleans has to royalty, doesn't that make it our duty to have a palace?"

"When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right" Katerina intones as he moves to the door, he rolls his eyes, "I would value that quote more if it did not come from a man most famous for his recount of a _failed_ revolution"

She followed him downstairs to the kitchen where Niklaus was feeding Erik pieces of watermelon,

"Good morning brother" Elijah greets jovially before releasing his nephew from the highchair and lavishing him with kisses,

"Good morning my _favourite_ nephew…how are you today?"

She smirks as Klaus takes the opportunity to fetch himself another cup of coffee,

"Forgive me for questioning your declarations of love for Erik brother, but last I checked, he is your _only_ nephew yes?"

"That does not make him any less my favourite" Elijah counters, slipping the baby back into place and turning to his brother,

"Niklaus, I want to talk to you about our living arrangements"

"Oh?"

His tone could be mistaken for curiosity but Katherine has spent too many years fearing Klaus not to know when he is seconds away from violence,

"Elijah thinks we should all move into a bigger house" she blurts out, her hand clenching the doorjamb behind her to hide her tension,

"So the _four_ of us have more room"

Klaus accepts this with a nod of his head but Elijah sees the terror in her eyes and belatedly realises the danger he had just put her in, sending her an apologetic glance before continuing,

"I can begin searching for appropriate housing today" he offers, "I thought the Garden District might be suitable, it offers distance from the Quarter whilst proximity should we require it, also affluence and the ability to parade our wealth and standing"

Klaus shrugs, he knows his brother will pick a suitable home,

"Very well, but let us keep this house for guests or whatnot"

With that spoken commandment and his unspoken permission, he gathers his son into his arms and takes him for a bath allowing Katherine to take her first real breath since Elijah's foolish mistake.

He is at her side in an instant, pressing his lips to her temple and gripping her in his arms,

"I apologise my darling, I worded that all wrong"

She allows him to lead her to a chair and sit her down but refuses the cup of coffee he pours her, her heart rate is already high enough.

"So…" she begins once she can trust herself to speak, "We're going house hunting?"

* * *

Unsure of where to begin, Elijah himself had never been one to inspect properties before purchase, he'd simply told his servants what he required and expected them to satisfy his needs. He's never put a great deal of effort into his surroundings before because he was always looking over his shoulder, always assuming Mikael could find them and attack at any moment, but now…

He calls Father Kieran and asks for the name of a real estate agent, an hour later he receives a call from a woman with a New York accent who offers to meet him at outside Still Perkin' Coffee Shop in the Garden District in an hour.

Katerina has calmed down now, no longer trembling she allows him to guide her to the Mercedes and drive them the ten minutes to the quaint little café with various selection of coffee. They grab the table by the window and treat themselves to flavoured drinks whilst discussing the logistics of moving house, the purchasing of furniture and whether or not they really need an extra walk-in wardrobe for shoe collections.

They have just finished an argument about the benefits of building an underground dungeon which Elijah refused because they would not be keeping their enemies on site and which Katerina won by suggesting they retrofit the currently non-existent room to have serve as a sex dungeon instead. Katerina ends her case by going to pay for the coffees and Elijah heads outside trying to shake the images flashing through his mind,

"Mr Mikaelson?"

He raises his head and sees an early thirties blonde in a bright blue dress, that brought out her aqua eyes, vibrant make-up and dyed blonde hair,

"Ms Mather I presume" he shook her hand and noticed the unusual excitement in her eyes as she took in his pristine suit, polished shoes and expensive watch.

"_Oh please_" she gushed, "Call me Gracie"

"Elijah" he replied as he heard the door chime and the tell-tale click of Katerina's heels on stone, "And this is my partner Katerina"

The smile on Gracie's face faltered as she noted the young dark haired beauty who gave off the vibe of off-duty supermodel, who slipped her arm through Elijah's and brushed a piece of imaginary lint of his sleeve with the ease of a woman who has her man.

"_Partner_?" Gracie tried to clarify, hoping for a Hail Mary.

Katherine Pierce is not famous for her mercy,

"Girlfriend" she explained in a sickly sweet tone, "Soon to be fiancée when Elijah's dear mother brings the family ring down this Saturday"

She strokes his chin and brings him down for a quick kiss to hide his surprise at the news that his mother had somehow resurrected and that his family had an ancestral ring worth sharing.

Gracie Mather grits her teeth as her momentary fantasy of a rich, single man roughly the same age as her, goes up in smoke. She swallows the bile in her throat and offers a tight smile,

"Right, well congratulations…shall we begin? We have six properties available in this district, I _hope_ you don't mind _walking_"

She glances down witheringly at the high heeled shoes Katerina is wearing and blanches when she remembers seeing them in Vogue magazine as part of the latest line from Christian Loubouton.

The bitch is draped in designer gear.

Katerina shrugs, "Oh don't mind me, the New Orleans sidewalks are so much easier than the cobblestone paths of Europe"

Gracie forces herself to smile and spins on her heel to lead them down the street to their first stop, so busy in her seething that she doesn't notice when Katerina reaches down and gropes her boyfriend's behind.

* * *

Elijah doesn't really know what he and his family are looking for in their new house, a bedroom each, a kitchen and a few bathrooms should be sufficient. They spent their childhood in a small hut, centuries in castles with inadequate heating and plumbing, in linear time, luxury is a relatively new thing for them.

Fortunately Katerina seems to have a detailed idea of what she wants. She nixed the first, second and third house claiming every time that it was 'too small'

"We simply _can't_ have four bedrooms when your brother and sister are going to be living with us darling" she crooned before slipping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for the third inappropriate kiss that hour,

"There won't be enough space…my fiancé is a family man" she offers to the real estate agent by way of explanation, "So we'll need five bedroom minimum, sound-proofing…oh and do you know if any of these houses have base…"

Elijah cuts her off with another kiss and squeezes her waist, causing her to squeal with delight, "Let's try the next one shall we?"

Gracie has been managing to throw acidic glares at Katerina all day for a reason Elijah can't figure out but which definitely explains why his lover seems absolutely determined to have the both of them arrested for public indecency.

"So…" Gracie begins as the three of them turn down onto Fourth Avenue, "Katerina" she searched for a topic to discuss with the gold-digging bitch who had been flaunting her landing of the gorgeous rich man all morning,

"You must miss Russia"

Katerina's eyes go dark, "I'm _Bulgarian_"

"Oh…" Gracie has no idea where that is, "Well I guess they speak Russian there don't they?"

"Never willingly"

Elijah intervenes, Russian occupation is always a touchy topic for citizens whose countries had belonged to the Eastern Bloc.

"How many bedrooms did you say this next house has?"

"Seven" Gracie answers automatically, with the experience of a woman who has given these tours many times,

"Five bathrooms, a swimming pool, sun room and patio with a built in hot tub, eleven thousand square feet, close to the Commander's Palace, large garage, crystal chandeliers, marble mantles"

She stops at the house and Elijah is immediately nostalgic, the mansion was over one hundred and forty years old in the Italianate Neoclassical design, two storey with a large garden.

She unlocks the ornate iron work gate and ushers them in, Katerina pouting over the plain hedges and manicured lawns, "We would definitely have to plant some flowers"

Gracie leads them up the front path to the steps leading onto the wrap around porch covered by the second floor balcony and to the front door, as with the last few houses, Elijah cautiously puts his foot forward and feels a sense of relief when he can cross the threshold.

The house is impressive. Large sweeping rooms with antique décor but modern day appliances, grand windows that allowed sunlight to fill the rooms and yet were double glazed so that the cold wouldn't seep in. Each room blended seamlessly into the next and Elijah was admiring the formal dining room when he heard Katerina calling him,

"Up here my lord"

He followed the sound of her voice and the pattern of her breathing until he found her in one of the bedrooms, unlike the other six it didn't hark back to the nineteenth century but had been modernised. Sleek design with warm colours on cream background, walk in wardrobe, wall-to-wall carpet and a pristine white bed in the centre. He spotted the low wall and walked around it to find a kitchenette with glass doors leading to a garden rooftop, he walked through the kitchenette and found the ensuite bathroom, complete with a standing bathtub in the centre, a toilet hidden away by a wall and a free standing shower.

"I want this room" Katerina announces when he is finished with his inspection, she's bouncing on the bed and hooks her heel around his calf, drawing him in,

"I want this to be _our_ bedroom, our _sanctuary_"

He puts his hands in his pockets to resist touching her, "I would have thought you would want one of the more grandiose bedrooms, ones with the wealth and design of years past"

She shake her head, her beautiful curls dancing across her bare skin,

"You and I have plenty of past already, I want to build a future with you Elijah"

Moved beyond words, he cups her cheek gently in his hand, "So this is definitely the house then?"

She nods, "This is our home"

"Well" Gracie's voice trills from the hallway, "It isn't yet, you still have to make an offer and I'm not sure if the current owner has issues about selling to foreigners"

Katerina scowls murderously as the real estate agent clumps loudly back down the carpeted stairs, clearly inexperienced with manoeuvring heels on plush carpet.

"Katherine Pierce had an axe," she intones murderously "She gave that whore forty whacks, when she realised what she'd done she gave her another forty one"

"You don't have an axe my darling" Elijah points out, helping her to her feet and lacing her arm through his as they made their way downstairs,

"I'll buy one…the wonders of the modern era my lord, I can buy an axe, an AK-47 or a grenade launcher without a single background check being necessary"

"Hmmm" he kissed her hair in an attempt to calm her, "But do refrain from any acts of murder until after we've bought the house my darling"

She smiles at that, "Our home" she corrects again and this time he doesn't even try to contain his hope,

"Our home"

With compulsion he can have the property sold and signed over by the end of the week.

Their home.

It's all he ever wanted.


	4. Jealousy

A/N- Okay so this chapter has a tiny bit of angst and writing it I got inspiration for the next chapter which is going to be pure smut but I promise any chapter with angst will be sandwiched in between chapters of pure happiness.  
I am taking all your suggestions and working them into chapters already. If you have any ideas, no matter how big or small, PM them to me or stick them in the Reviews!

* * *

Katerina had never realised that moving houses could be fun.

With the powers of compulsion and wealth Elijah had nixed the thirty day waiting period and received the keys to their new home on Friday, all they had to do was pack up their personal possessions, load them into the moving van they'd hired and unpack at the other end.

Katerina cherished her excitement as she stood in their small bedroom on Conti St, staring down at Elijah's Louis Vuitton suitcases that he had purchased as a continuation of the Originals inside joke.

Finn and Kol had been kept in custom made Louis Vuitton coffins for the better part of their daggered existence.

Elijah used the best pocket squares and silk handkerchiefs the brand made to wipe his hands clean after every massacre.

Klaus had bought an entire fall line back in the fifties after his logo design had been accepted and applied to the famous label.

The design that he had drawn on a scrap of paper in someone else's blood.

Still,

_C'est la vie._

She notes with annoyance aimed directly at herself that most of her possessions could easily be packed in with Elijah's without worrying about space.

She had only been in New Orleans for a few weeks and while she'd had the belongings she'd kept in Mystic Falls shipped over, they were just the basic necessities- pants, dresses, ball gowns, lingerie for all occasions and twelve pairs of shoes.

She knew that she should really get a move on and arrange for her favourite tailors and designers to send her new autumn clothes, shoes and accessories over but somehow, even amidst the hours and hours she had spent in the French Quarter she hadn't found the time.

Rolling her eyes at her own foolishness she daintily drops her red negligee on top of Elijah's pristinely folded pale blue shirt, she knows that seeing the two pieces of clothing together will drive him wild.

She still blushes when she remembers what they got up to in the ballroom yesterday.

She looks around their now bare bedroom, the furniture is staying as is most of the linen and appliances. This house is their chance to really start their new life together.

"Elijah?" she calls out, heading out to the staircase, "Have you got everything packed?"

"Yes" he shouts back from the balcony where he and Niklaus are arguing- well, debating, arguing would require weapons- about whether to have a witch place a protection spell on their new property.

Unfortunately it would mean finding a witch they had to trust wouldn't turn around and betray them later.

She shrugs and flips the lid of the suitcase over wondering if she has time to grab a coffee before they head over, she hears a buzzing noise and reaches for the cell phone absently, swiping the screen automatically,

"Hello?"

She glances at the largest suitcase and wonders if it will close, also whether she should maybe convince Elijah that they should head to New York for the necessary shopping trip,

"_Katherine_?"

She straightens up with a frown, "_Elena_? Why are you calling me oh annoying doppelganger of mine?"

On the other end of the line she hears the outraged little huff that is oh so familiar and yet completely strange at the same time, she recognises that she could make that sound but it's the huff Elena gives whenever she realises that she is not in fact the most beloved being on the planet.

Katerina isn't always the most charitable person in her thoughts.

"I'm not" Elena protests, "I'm calling Elijah, you're on _his_ phone Katherine"

She pulls the phone away from her ear and realises that it is in fact Elijah's,

"Okay" she pouts, "What is it you need of the handsome Original, wait…let me guess, is it supernatural or soap opera based? Is a new breed of catastrophic monster coming to town or do Stefan and Damon both want the first dance at the next Founding Family ball and you need Elijah to compel one of them into arriving late?"

Elena issues a loud, long-suffering sigh, "You know what Katherine, I have _essays_ I would rather write if the alternative is keep to talking to _you_!"

"_Wait_" Katerina called, "Why'd you need to talk to Elijah, he'll be pissed if he finds out you were in danger and I failed to pass on the message"

"I'm not in danger" Elena announces belligerently, "I'm in a café at Whitmore waiting for Caroline"

She couldn't be the only one who found Elena this annoying.

"Then why did you call Elijah?" Katerina asks again, slowly, enunciating her words in the hope Elena will understand and answer the question,

"To talk"

She smacks her forehead and wonders if she should just run the gauntlet and call Damon,

"About _what_?"

"Nothing just our regular fortnightly talks"

Katherine is suddenly hyper aware, she's can feel the tension in her legs as she stands frozen to the wooden floor, her arm hanging at her side, her eyes staring straight ahead at the mirror on the dresser and the back of her neck heating up,

"Regular fortnightly talks?" she echoes, "Since when?"

When her voice nearly breaks on the first question she swallows and reminds herself to draw up her façade, she couldn't let anyone see how vulnerable she was.

"Since graduation" Elena's voice is barely audible, "Hang on…some people are protesting something and about to march in here…I have to go"

"I'll get Elijah to call you back" Katherine offers with deadly sweetness as she ends the call and looks down at the sleek black cell phone in her hand, willing herself to drop it on top of the suitcase and not hurl it against a wall corner.

She props herself up on the window seat, her black heel up on the wall whilst she mulls over the storm cloud that darkened her bright and sunny morning.

Elijah was calling Elena on a fortnightly basis for mere social chats.

Not to check that everything was okay, that nobody was dying horrifically or another apocalypse was on the way but just to talk.

The man she loved had been talking to Elena and hadn't felt the need to share that information.

Elena.

Her doppelganger.

When he had loved both her and Tatia previously and was now friendly with the third Petrova doppelganger.

Katherine catches her reflection in the window, her oval face, dark eyes and brunette curls, she had been the prettiest girl in her village and five hundred years later is still driving men crazy with her smile. She had found it disconcerting to meet Elena and couldn't resist drawing comparisons between their two vastly different lives but she had always loved her beauty, considered it her own.

Now however.

She stands and moves back to the mirror, gazing deeply into the glass and wondering what would have happened if the doppelganger curse had never come to life.

What would she look like?

She brought to mind her mother and father, her little sister, they'd all had black hair so it stood to reason that hers would have been black also, her mother and sister had had hazel eyes and her father had large grey ones.

So grey or hazel eyes.

Lastly, their faces, hers had been a family of round faces, distinct noses and thin lips, so she focuses in her mind's eye and draws this image of herself, this woman who doesn't resemble anyone but her immediate family and doesn't draw a man's love for sheer physical beauty alone.

Would Elijah care for her half as much if she didn't bare Tatia's face?

Or at all?

* * *

She jumps startled when Elijah cups her hips and draws her back against his chest, he smiles at their reflection in the mirror and Katherine can't deny that they're a handsome couple, except he would look just as gorgeous standing beside Tatia and Elena.

"Are you packed my darling?"

She nods but can't trust herself to speak, he glances over his shoulder to the suitcase on the bed, obviously seeing the red lace he chuckles, burying his face in her hair and planting a kiss on the back of her head, his thumbs slide under her blouse and rub small circles on her hipbones,

"Elena called" Katherine revealed, stepping easily out of his embrace and crossing to the door to vent some of her pent up energy, "For your fortnightly chat but was interrupted, you'll have to call her back"

"Hmmm?" his forehead creased in a slight frown, "Why did you answer my phone?"

Her lips tightened to the point where they stung, "Because it was ringing and I didn't realise that you were keeping secrets from me"

"My friendship with Elena is hardly a secret" he scoffs and she grips the door handle, twisting it in her hands as all her dark anxieties raise their heads and make themselves known,

"You never told me it was _ongoing_" Katherine accuses, "You never told me that you were speaking to her, you haven't mentioned her once the entire time I have been here and you haven't called her when I was around which is almost the very _definition_ of keeping a secret"

And having an affair but the mere comparison will make her sick.

His right hand brushes over the watch on his left hand, uncertainty in his expression and a hint of vulnerability in his eyes that breaks what's left of Katherine's heart,

"You're angry with me" he says slowly, as if puzzling out the idea aloud will help him to better understand the situation,

"That surprises you?! Come on Elijah, this is the girl both Stefan and Damon were willing to kill me for without hesitation, two men who both told me that I was the love of their lives and in the end wouldn't have blinked if I had died. So yeah, I'm angry when I find out that another man who I loved first and this time I'm actually being _faithful_ to is speaking with her behind my back!"

"You do _not_ want to compare notes on fidelity with me Katherine" Elijah warns, "Or to accuse me of being unfaithful when I have done nothing but honour our love since the day in the Quarry when I held your heart in my hands. Yes I stay in touch with Elena and that is because I care for her, she is sweet"

_Sweet_.

Katherine had been sweet when they'd first met, sweet and vapid. She slammed the door closed,

"Well it's easy to be _sweet_ when you haven't spent five hundred years running for your life!"

There it was, the elephant in the room, the past which they ignored in favour of the future they both wanted.

Katherine is clenching her hands into fists, feeling her manicured nails dig into the flesh of her palms and Elijah won't look at her.

She takes a breath and tries to speak around the fear choking her throat,

"I get Stefan and Damon falling in love with Elena," she tells him "I exhausted them in every manner and in no way shape or form is she hard. You're right Elena is sweet, her brain runs like a youtube channel dedicated to kittens befriending hedgehogs, she's a sweet little girl who spreads rainbows and friendship but she's a _girl_ Elijah, being with her is as easy as reading a picture book. I thought _you_ at least would want a challenge"

She storms out of the house, desperate to get away from the small, suffocating rooms and the words that can't be unsaid. 

* * *

She follows her feet, not looking where she is going and hoping that those around her have a greater awareness of their surroundings than she does at that moment. It isn't until the cold, damp metal of the railing is pressing into her stomach that she lifts her eyes and sees where she has brought herself.

The Mississippi river.

She doesn't know why it is that this spot in the park has become her sanctuary when she's upset but she likes to think that the running water reminds her of the Tundzha and as simply as she closes her eyes she can imagine herself to be home.

She grips the railing and stays there, not seeing the riverboats sailing across the water or the skyscrapers on the other side but medieval villages, the dark earth, the smell of fires and roasting meats, the beauty of the rose fields.

Two hands come down on either side of her, startling her and locking her in place, her brain switches to fight or flight mode before she sees the expensive timepiece on his left wrist.

Damon's wristwatch.

Elijah presses against her, trapping her against the railing, his legs against the back of her thighs, his groin against her backside, his mouth finds her ear and she can feel the hint of his teeth against the shell.

"If I _wanted_ Elena Gilbert Katerina I would have her, you speak of Stefan and Damon but we both know they are _nothing_ but a pale shadow compared to me,

I could have her and be in Mystic Falls attending Founding day celebrations and drinking at the Grill with little care in the world but I am not. I am _here_ in New

Orleans with _you_ because as much as I admire sweet little girls I do not take them into my bed or try to seduce them. Nor do sweet little girls survive in the

world in which _we_ thrive. I am here because I have only truly, deeply loved two women for the entirety of my existence and you are the one I have loved the

most. The woman, Katerina and I want you, not some sweet young girl, I want a woman, strong, intelligent, brave, sensual and dangerous whom I can love for

her flaws rather than her virtues, who teases me with red lingerie because she can and challenges me every single day. I love you, I want you and I don't care

if you storm out of the house _every day_ for the rest of eternity, you will not lose me for I will not give you up"

Katherine trembles in his arms and absorbs the impact of his words, she lifts one hand and lays it atop Elijah's stroking the hair across the back, she turns her face to peek at him through her curls, his eyes are burning and she gasps when he spins her around to face him, 

"Elijah"

She doesn't know what to say, whether she overreacted or needs to apologise, whether to demand an apology or remind him that he needs to call Elena back but she opens her mouth only to have him kiss it.

His kiss is hungry, demanding, fierce in a way he never is with her, claiming and determined. His hands are cupping her face and drawing her closer, bringing her against his pristine suit as she adjusts her footing in her heels.

When she pushes against his chest so she can break for air she feels dizzy and throws her head back, closing her eyes against the bright sun and sighing when Elijah cups her neck and wraps an arm around her waist, he peppers kisses along her neck, his tongue darting out and licking the flesh, she tilts her head to his shoulder so that her hair is out of the way and cries out when she feels the two fangs pierce her skin.

"_Elijah_!"

Blood sharing is the most intimate of acts between two vampires, and though a vampire will feed carelessly on a human stranger, in a relationship it is rare.

Not only because a human can rarely sustain regular blood loss without health issues but also because the deed itself became addictive for both the predator and the prey.

A vampire could become hooked on their lover's blood, finding that only their blood alone will sate their hunger and when a human is willingly sharing, the sensations they feel, the pleasure that mingles with the pain, it can ruin them for any other vices.

Katerina slung her arms around his neck and stretched up to give him better access,

"My lord" she moans as he works to close all distance between them, "Oh _Elijah_…oh _god_"

To outsiders they were just another couple losing control of themselves and expressing their affection in public, some innocent necking, hardly likely to get them arrested for indecency.

In the supernatural world however, blood sharing in public was the equivalent of stripping completely naked and fucking each other in full view of a nunnery.

She is panting and arching her back, her body warm and flushed as she rubs herself against him.

He draws his fangs from her slowly, running his tongue along her neck to catch any stray drops of blood, he keeps his arm anchored around her waist as she sways on her feet for which she is grateful, she can easily guess right now that her eyes bright and she can smell her arousal.

He lifts his wrist to his mouth but brings it down again and runs his thumb across the stretch of neck where he had bitten her,

"It healed instantly" he tells her and she shrugs, uncaring of that right now,

"One of the benefits of skinny dipping in the fountain of youth"

He hums and kisses her again before looking in her eyes,

"I am devoted to you my Ekaterina and I do love you, I will gladly exchange rings and vows with you to prove that"

She gives him a smirk and tugs on his tie, "Careful, or I might hold you to that" she takes his hand and braces herself before voicing her decision,

"You should call Elena back Elijah, if you aren't going to fall in love with her you can call her as often as you want"

He smiles as she leads them back to Conti St, enjoying the summer day and eager to get back to building her life in New Orleans with the man she loved.

* * *

A/N- Next chapter- Elijah introduces Katherine to tantric sex in their new ballroom on Fourth Avenue.


	5. Ballroom Dancing

A/N- So here's the chapter I promised. I'm sorry for the delay but uni semester has started again and I got distracted trying to figure out the layout of my story New Choices which this story is the filler in-between for.  
Now I did do some research about Tantra before writing this, granted not extensive research and straying away from the western misconceptions as much as I could. The act in itself is one of meditation more than sex, with women controlling the sexual act when it occurs and the goal is for the woman to experience enough pleasure to ejaculate. I used euphemisms.  
Still taking requests and ideas for chapters.

* * *

Home.

Elijah stood on the pavement outside the wrought iron gate, admiring the beautiful mansion in the midday sun.

New Orleans, the town they had built and treasured had finally welcomed them back and now they had a home.

A home for the siblings to share, for his nephew to be raised in, for him to live with Katerina.

A home that needed better locks it would seem.

He's standing in the threshold of their new house, the mansion in the Garden District, that very morning he had co-signed all the documents for the purchase of the property with his brother and now he held the key in his hand.

A key which he had yet to use because when he had arrived it was to find the door left ajar with the familiar tell-tale scratch that showed the lock had been picked.

He breathed in through his nose and the scent of roses tickled through his senses.

Katerina had been even more eager than him to explore their new home apparently.

He smiles at her criminal activity and gently closes the door, enjoying the sensation of comfort that settles on him after the act.

He is home, he is safe, he can relax…

No. It appears relaxing has joined the ranks of experiences he wouldn't be enjoying in the immediate future, right behind unlocking his front door for the first time.

A familiar stiletto is lying innocently in the hallway, just outside the entrance to the parlour looking for all the world like it was kicked off by its owner so they themselves could relax.

However the shoe's pair is at the very end of the hallway and a leather jacket is a few feet away.

A blouse is tossed over a chair and a bra is hanging on a door knob.

He follows the trail of clothes through the house, to the back patio where he hears the bubbling and gushing of moving water.

Katerina is reclining naked in the built-in hot tub, her arms up on the marble,

"Hello my lord" she purrs and he grins, holding the shoe up on his finger,

"Lose something my darling?"

She smirked, lifting a dainty foot out of the water "I lost a lot more than that, come and see"

His grin widens and he puts the shoe down with exaggerated care before slowly circling around the large tub to where she is positioned, locking her with his gaze for as long as he is in her sight, he stands behind her to undress, folding his clothes and leaving them in the shade, she doesn't bother twisting her head to follow him, trusting him when his hands touch her shoulders, caressing the flesh there tenderly. She leans forward so that he can settle in on the seat behind her, protesting when he snaps the band holding her hair up in a messy bun, her ends trailing in the warm water,

"Elijah" she moans with a breathy laugh, "Do you know how long it takes my hair to dry?"

He kisses her head and draws her onto his lap, his arms around her waist, she sits sideways on his thighs, glaring at him playfully as he draws her face down to kiss her, he doesn't offer an explanation but when Katerina casually ties her hair up she looks younger and resembles Elena, strongly.

And for Elijah, that is a great turn-off.

He would never tell her this however.

"You'll have to forgive me my crime, my darling…and for this"

He tilts her backwards quickly, his arms under her back so that her hair is completely drenched, she gasps and smacks his shoulder as he lifts her back up and she repositions herself so that she's straddling him, she's trying to smother her laughter, her body shaking with the effort as he brushes her hair over her back to reveal her gorgeous breasts which hover above the water's edge.

"Oh, and you were so close to getting laid today" she scolds, smacking his shoulder repeatedly as he grins, "And that is completely off the table now is it?"

"Completely" she utters as he begins kissing the water off her olive-toned shoulders,

"Well," he speaks between kisses "Don't be mad, but I am still going to do this"

He followed a drop of water trailing down her right breast before taking it into his mouth. She moans appreciatively and drapes an around his shoulder while running a hand through his hair and cupping the back of his head. His tongue traces her areola before lapping at her nipple, sucking and scraping with the barest hint of teeth. She rolls her body wantonly against his, flushed with lust, the water feeling cold against her heated skin. He breaks away to suckle her left breast, his eyes flickering up to watch her bite her lip, her eyelashes fluttering and her hair sticking to her flushed skin.

She was beautiful.

Katerina Petrova.

Always unequivocally and unashamedly herself.

And he was _so_ deeply in love with her.

There wasn't enough room for them both, so he held her tighter to his chest, released her breast and trusted his supernatural balance to gracefully rise to his feet, she wrapped her legs around his waist and gave him a nod of consent before reaching down between them and guiding his penis inside of her. He thrust deeply and she moaned, rolling her hips and leaning back for the increased friction, he supported her with his arms under her back and focused on keeping pace, on not losing himself completely to the sensation and exploding from the pleasure.

Seeing her come apart in his arms always risked ruining his stamina.

She knows it too, there's always a wicked glint in her eye right before she kisses him and bites his bottom lip or nibbles on his neck, when he sees this he knows his done for. He laughs as she cradles his face and draws him down to press his lips against hers.

* * *

Afterwards, they use their hands to wipe away as much water from their bodies as possible before meandering from room to room, looking for a sunny spot in the now furniture-free house to dry off in, they end up lying on the carpet left behind in the grand ballroom, likely bought solely to attract potential buyers, it was a white and gold floral design with only the saving grace of being comfortable.

"This carpet is ridiculous" Katerina complains as she lies on her stomach while Elijah strokes her back,

"Why is there carpet in a room designed for dancing? You can't properly dance on carpet"

"You could, my darling" he counters indolently, he's lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, enjoying the sunlight blazing through the large French windows and lighting up the entire room.

She smirks, lifting her head to brush a gentle kiss against his lips, "I'm the exception, not the rule. I could dance in the midst of a burning town and look great doing it"

Elijah raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I had heard the rumour about you having a direct role in Atlanta burning to the ground…dare I ask?"

She hummed and draped herself over him, straddling him and lowering her head so that her still drying curls fall down to create a little world for just the two of them,

"I'd much rather discuss you fucking me on this carpet"

He stilled and could barely return the kiss she gave him.

_Fucking_ was such a coarse term for sex, it was the removal of emotion, sentimentality or selflessness on the part of either partner.

When he was a small child Elijah saw his father and mother fuck.

It was a ferocious act that likely took less than an hour but scarred him for life.

It brought to mind beasts coupling in the field and thereafter, when the knowledge of Esther's infidelity came to light he associated such savage passion with brutality and unhappiness.

Therefore, his own lovemaking for the last nine centuries was unfailingly gentle.

He always ensured the woman he was with found pleasure and felt as though they had been treated with kindness and propriety.

He often heard Kol, Rebekah or Niklaus in the throes of their passion, rough and loud with their partners staggering out the door bowlegged and half delirious and found it unendingly vulgar.

To him, the act itself was always love-making and a continuation of his romantic trysts. He didn't see the need for one night stands, he preferred the romance of the chivalric Old World, a dance spread out over weeks or months, with secret glances becoming stolen caresses, little kisses in dark corners, long hours of flirtatious conversation, sweet games and courting where the anticipation would build up to almost unbearable heights before they finally found release in each other's arms.

Of course he'd never expected to have to wait five hundred years between the meeting and the love-making.

But Katerina Petrova always did keep to her own schedule.

And with her splendour she could make anyone she wanted wait for as long as she desired.

But it wasn't just Katerina's beauty, although she was extraordinary with her full breasts, curvaceous hips and the long legs that nearly caused a man eye strain as he struggled to decide which part of her to feast his sight on. There was something else, a confidence and sophistication and the way she drew people in, with her words or her long lashes. Elijah ran a finger down her perfect spine, if ever there was a woman made for love making it was Katerina.

But there were men in the world who didn't want to make love to her but to have her simply for their own pleasure or gain.

Men who had fucked her, benumbed her to the idea of being used and not treasured.

He would never be one of those men.

He rolls them over so that he is atop her and withdraws carefully, standing and holding out a hand to help her rise,

"Dance with me" he pleads softly and she frowns in confusion, "What?"

"On this carpet" he places one of her hands on his shoulder and holds the other in his, drawing her close, she straightens her back instinctively preparing for a complex dance but he doesn't plan on a centuries old waltz, foxtrot or pavane, instead he leads her in a slow two step that was less of a dance and more of an excuse to sway in each other's arms.

For several moments they enjoy the tranquillity, the movements that would be chaste if not for their complete nakedness.

"Not that I don't enjoy dancing with you my lord," Katerina smiles as he unhurriedly turns her under his hand,

"But why are we choosing this very moment for this particular activity?"

He strokes her drying hair back over her shoulders, taking one lock to kiss reverently,

"Because I shall never fuck you my Ekaterina," he explains, "I shall make love to you every day you desire it, I shall treasure and worship you but the idea of holding you in my arms and treating you as anything less than beloved sickens me"

She sighs softly and cups his cheek with her hand, "I wasn't suggesting an emotionless bout of selfishness Elijah, just a quick, fun romp"

He hummed and slid his arms around her waist, his hands resting on her lower back,

"Counter offer my darling…how familiar are you with tantra?"

Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise, "The traditional eastern tantra or the western adaptation?"

He scoffs, feigning offence, "When have you ever known me to choose cheap knock offs?"

She grins and steals a quick kiss, "Well…I'm eager to learn whatever you wish to teach me my lord and love"

* * *

The ballroom is hardly the most appropriate place for them to be experiencing so intimate a ritual but neither of them even considers the idea of leaving.

Smooth hands run over his back, trailing a path either side of his spine, dancing across the marks on his skin with curiosity, little gasps of breath as she resists the urge to kiss him. His hands are on her neck, disappearing under her hair, massaging the tension away as she tilts her head back into his palm.

Already he can smell the arousal on her and she has complete control over the timing of the situation, it is the only way to achieve success in this act, for her to completely lose her ego and to understand everything her body is telling her.

But she doesn't break away from the set path, only from him, her hands trailing from his back, down his arms to his hands where their fingers press and tap against one another, telling of their reluctance to cease touching before they release one another.

The process in itself is not about pleasure, about racing towards orgasm but of reaching a true harmony between the two of them, a shared awareness that came from the metaphysical plane they were striving to reach.

So they gaze into each other's eyes until their coloured orbs, two varied shades of chocolate brown are all that exist in this world they're creating for themselves.

Thoughts fade and their faces shift, nothing else matters but the windows they are gazing through into each other's souls.

When it became too much to bear, Elijah reaches across the vast expanse to touch her warm skin, to learn that she is beauty, love and truth made flesh, his left hand touches her stomach and trails up to her round breast, he feels a hand on his cheek and the sensation is acceptance itself, he steps closer and two feet rest on his own as free hands seek flesh, to caress and move together until they lose all sensation of where one ends and the other begins, becoming one body stroking itself.

There was a very slow pulse of energy between them and she guides him back down to the carpet, she lays down on her back as he worships the goddess before him.

He starts with her feet, rubbing and kissing the arches before moving forward, up her smooth legs, leaving no skin untouched, he climbs up her body, when he reaches her vagina he seeks out her pleasure, delving his tongue inside and around her until she comes undone with a silent cry and he drinks up her nectar.

She doesn't speak a name when he continues his travels, up her stomach and breasts, down her arms to her hands and finally delving his tongue into her mouth, seeking her essence, but how could she name something that is ultimately herself? He has forgotten that there has ever been a time when they weren't one being.

It is called the great dance, this act that they are supposed to perform when they come together in earth shattering finality, but she rolls him onto his back and repeats his act as he imagines a crystal clear ocean where the waves rise and fall serenely as she guides him into her mouth and drinks deeply as he finds ecstasy.

Hands are linked and lips brush against one another before she whispers for him to sit up, he can feel her drawing his torso up and straightening his spine though her hands never leave his.

She is standing above him and he tilts his head back, taking in her form as she steps over his lap so that she is straddling him and sinks down slowly, with him waiting breathlessly with anticipation until the wave reaches its epitome and falls, she wraps her legs around his back and accepts him within her.

She guides his movements, rising and rolling as her body desires. The act is slow and sensual, with the understanding that orgasms were only chapters in a long saga, continuing until the sensations they were experiencing made the pleasure of an orgasm pale in comparison.

Eventually, the vibrations and the energy between these two halves of one body grow into an overwhelming crescendo and they finish in unison, seeing stars as they both explode and cling together as awareness returns to them and they slowly find their way back to two separate entities.

"I love you" Katerina murmurs after a while, they are still in the ballroom, still on the carpet they'll either have to steam clean or throw out. Somehow they managed to end up with him on his stomach and her sprawled across his back, her hair tickling his arms as her feet drum lazily against his calves.

"I love you too my darling" he replies, resting his face on his arms,

"You know what a true symbol of love is my lord?"

"No Katerina, we are not going to have a room solely for your footwear"

* * *

A/N- Thank-you all for reading, for the next chapter, as requested in the reviews by Guest, Caroline, Elijah and Katherine will be bonding.


	6. Morning After

A/N- Theory for TO, Kaleb with his weirdly spelled name is either Kol, Klaus' separated at birth twin, or Mikael's bastard from his own extra-marital affair, of which I assume there is one because come on was he an asshole.  
Anywho, the title of this chapter is pretty self-explanatory. Originally (is that a pun?) it was going to be Caroline, Katerina and Elijah bonding but somehow Klaus made his way in there as well.

* * *

"I hate you and I hope you suffer unspeakable agony and _die_!"

Elijah was sure that Katerina meant every syllable she uttered that morning, but it was hard to feel threatened or offended when she insisted on using his naked body as a hangover cure.

Or trying to at least.

He pressed his lips to her neck, kissing her softly and easing himself gently into her,

"I want food" she mumbled in his ear, "And to come"

He resisted the urge to laugh, he'd already done that once this morning when she'd woken up moaning from the pain and she'd managed to push him from the bed and considered a cracked skull suitable punishment,

"I'm only equipped to provide one of those things right now my love"

She swallowed around a dried throat. Someone had brought cherry vodka to the party last night, or one of the parties anyway. Niklaus, Caroline, Katerina and himself had gone bar and club hopping to ring in the weekend. Elijah had lost track of her sometime around midnight and hadn't seen her again until two when they'd crossed paths on Royal Street. She'd drunkenly pulled him into an alleyway and demanded sex.

He'd held her off until they made it to the manor on Bourbon St. Not that it had been easy, he'd carried her with her legs wrapped around his waist whispering the most seductive things in his ear.

The couch in the study was now ruined beyond belief.

Katerina groaned and fidgeted, she had the restlessness of the hung-over, too awake to go back to sleep but unsure of what it was she needed.

Elijah moved as gently as possible, trying not to jostle her as they made love, she guided his head to her breasts and he sucked and nibbled on the globes obediently, love-making between them was something that usually took an hour minimum and the entire day if they so wished.

However, today Elijah was at the mercy of Katerina and she was at the mercy of her pounding head and roiling stomach, so when she commanded him to 'Finish' he did so and she slipped from the bed, padding across the room and hitting the wall before realising that they weren't in the mansion,

"Where are we?" she questions with little interest as she brushes her hair over her shoulders and Elijah pulls his gaze away from her bare buttocks,

"Bourbon St manor" he tells her, getting up and throwing on a pair of pants before fixing a sheet around her as she tries to fight her disorientation,

"Okay, where's the shower?"

"Down the hall my love and I'm afraid it's a bath"

He rests his hands on her shoulders and guides her into the hallway, noting with dismay that either a pack of wolves- unlikely- ran through the manor last night or he and Katerina really made a mess during their intimate encounter against any and all hard surfaces between the entrance and his bedroom.

Katerina sits on the closed toilet seat, grumbling impatiently while Elijah runs the bath,

"If I sit down in that tub I'll pass out and drown" she warns as he helps her to her feet, he grins,

"Is that your way of inviting me to join you?" he teases as she climbs in and leans back against the rim with a pained sigh,

"Bring me some aspirin, some cold water and then get your naked ass in here"

He shakes his head with amusement, "Darling you truly are the worst at handling illness"

"Move Original," she orders with closed eyes "Don't think I'm not above finding a white oak stake once the floor and walls stop spinning"

* * *

Chilled water is easy enough for him to fetch but he encounters an issue with locating aspirin. Even though they had a rather large stock of every medicine available over-the-counter after Katerina's food poisoning, they were all located at Le Coeur Jardin and he did not trust his lover's ability to keep her head above water or to remain conscious for a prolonged length of time.

Nor was he entirely sure that the Fountain of Youth enabled her to survive drowning. The odds were in his favour but it was still not an experiment that he wanted to perform.

He was rummaging through the icebox, filling a small bucket when he finally notices the bright pink panties dangling from the ceiling fan and realises that Katerina doesn't have any lingerie in that colour.

He should know, he has intimate and beloved acquaintance with every undergarment she owns.

He would wager that they belonged to Miss Forbes.

The most organised woman in the history of civilisation.

He gives a light tap on Niklaus' bedroom door before entering, usually a piece of etiquette he forgoes but Miss Forbes is peculiarly neurotic about privacy and hiding his brother and her sexual relations from his siblings. Elijah can't remember the last time any Mikaelson cared if they were walked in on and viewed during an act of passion, after one thousand years they've inadvertently spied each other in all forms of immodesty but Miss Forbes is young with Southern propriety drilled into her mind.

Although after the way they moved on that dance floor last night he doubts there isn't a soul left in the Quarter who couldn't correctly envision their lovemaking with extreme accuracy.

They are still abed when he steps into the room, both completely naked but with enough awareness of the situation to cover themselves with the sheets.

Elijah stares at their obvious suffering with incredulity.

"Katerina I understand but how on _earth_ did you two manage to become intoxicated to the point of getting _hangovers_?!"

"Dying" Klaus groans, burying his head into the pillows as Caroline drags herself into a sitting position with the mobility of a geriatric.

"Hey…uh…" she trails off and Elijah waits patiently for her to remember his name, or hers whichever came first, "Um…does the name Macy ring a bell to you?"

He snorts and bites his cheek, "Her name was Marcie I believe, five nine, large breasts, little clothing and wandering hands"

Caroline turns a fascinating shade of green, "Right…ah…did she…do you know if we…"

If he liked dear Miss Forbes a little less he might be inclined to prolong her suffering, as it is, he puts her out of her misery,

"Not to fear, she left with another couple, two women I believe"

"Oh thank god" the beautiful blonde fell back onto the pillows with a laugh of relief, followed by a groan, "Oh my _head_"

"Yes," he grinned, "About that, I was wondering if you had any aspirin. I have a fiancé about to drown or kill me to end her suffering"

She flings her arm out to a tiny gold clutch sitting on the nightstand, "In the zipped pocket" she mumbles before she rolls over and settles back down to sleep.

Elijah opens the clutch and immediately notes that it shouldn't be physically possible for the small item to hold the amount of products which it does. He rifles through an entire set of cosmetics, a pair of lingerie, a phone with a charger, a camera and finds that the pocket contains enough medicine to supply an army field kit.

Taking the aspirin he leaves the couple to their suffering and makes his way back to Katerina, she is splashing around in the tub, having apparently washed her hair or come close to death, he offers her the water and tiny white pill which she accepts with as much gratefulness as she seems capable of in her current state.

"You, naked, now" she demands, lifting herself up so that he can settle behind her, he steps out of his pants but can't resist teasing her,

"You know my darling I'm a sensitive individual, I need to be wooed and treated with respect…"

"Get in here _now_ if you _ever_ want to see me naked again!"

He smirks and climbs into the tub, drawing her back so that her back was against his chest, his legs were outside hers and his arms were resting on the rim, he bends his head and kisses her neck,

"How're you feeling?" he asks softly and she sighs, pressing herself closer to him,

"Like death warmed over" she grouses, reaching out of the water to take his hands and bring them to her body one on her breast, the other cupping her vagina,

"Orgasm now please"

He shakes his head, "Well, at least you hid the order in the guise of a request"

He set his expert fingers to work, kneading her breasts and playing with her clit until she gently came apart in a few minutes.

He was rewarded with a kiss and could still taste the sweet cherry flavouring on her tongue.

"You know" she murmurs as they step out of the tub and he dries off her gorgeous body,

"If I survive this hangover you'll be in a prime position to demand sexual favours"

He hums in agreement and steals another kiss, "Don't worry my darling, I'm already planning the reciprocity in my head"

* * *

Escorting three hung-over supernatural creatures with the appearance and maturity levels of young adults from the French Quarter to the Garden District had the same level of ease as herding hyperactive cats.

First he'd left Katerina dozing on the table in the courtyard as he physically pulled Klaus from his bed while Caroline tried to remember the basic act of getting dressed.

Then he'd lured them out of the manor with blood bags but had been forced to wait half an hour as they sipped their meal lest they threw it up.

Then he'd announced that the four of them were walking home and had received such blank stares he wondered if he'd somehow started speaking in tongues.

He'd wanted to hire a taxi but had decided against it in the hopes that the fresh air would do Niklaus, Caroline and Katerina some good.

In hindsight he should have rustled up some collars and leashes, the oncoming traffic didn't seem to alarm them as much as it usually would.

Elijah ended up with both women on his arms and trusted that his brother's werewolf nature would keep him on the sidewalk.

Then Katerina announced that she wanted food and the following debate about which cuisine and restaurant to visit between three disorientated and sleep-deprived peoples came as close to threatening Elijah's sanity as any event through the course of his long life.

He ended the discussion by forcibly guiding the three of them into the closest restaurant and telling them in no uncertain terms that this was the only stop they were making.

Fortunately it was a Creperie that also served obscenely expensive but large bottles of juice with vitamins and colours that surely could not be found in the natural world.

So with the dishevelled creatures nibbling on crepes laden with ice-cream and Nutella and a bag filled with juice on his arm, Elijah continued poking and prodding them the rest of the way down Royal St for the hour long walk until Le Coeur Jardin came into sight.

He sent a prayer heavenward when he finally got them over the threshold of the family home before realising that he had no idea what to do with them.

Fortunately they had sobered up to the point where they now had agency over their own bodies and after cleaning the melted ice-cream off their hands and the chocolate off their faces they ended up in the ground floor sunroom where the only television in the house resided.

It sat on the wall in front of a large four seater Fabio Leather cinema L shaped sofa which Katerina had chosen for comfort rather than aesthetic qualities.

He and Klaus sat down while Caroline grabbed her laptop to transfer a movie for them to watch and Katerina grabbed mink throws she'd bought on a whim and hadn't unpacked until that moment.

If ten years ago anyone had asked Elijah how he'd be spending his weekend that summer, for the life of him he never would have been able to guess that he would have spent the night bar and club hopping with his brother and their two partners, having a night of wild sex and then spending the next day snuggling on a couch with his lover curled up in his lap while Caroline had her head in his brother's lap and her feet pressing lightly against his side.

Niklaus was just within reach so when Elijah stretched his arm across the back of the sofa, he was able to stroke the curls on his brother's neck.

Barely concentrating on the ridiculous premise of the film and trying not to be overwhelmed by how happy he was in this moment, how much he felt like he was truly living his life.

They spent the rest of the day on that sofa, the four of them, watching movies whilst drowsing in and out of sleep, ordering take-out online as the urge took them, chatting amicably and genuinely enjoying each other's company.

That night, Niklaus was standing on the balcony as Caroline and Katerina sat in the kitchen with a bowl of cherries between them and made plans for the next week. Elijah came from the office where he'd been on the phone to Father Kieran about a community fundraiser that the man wanted to organise, he placed his hands on Caroline's shoulders to move her out of the way as he reached for the kettle only to find her pushing a cup of tea towards him.

"I assumed you wouldn't be after a nightcap" she offered by way of explanation before asking Katerina about the river cruises available. Elijah has to swallow to maintain his dignity and carries the tea out to the balcony, standing beside his brother as they stare out into the night sky,

"Did you ever think we could be this lucky?" Niklaus finally brings himself to ask softly enough so that their partners don't overhear, he smiles at the wondrous disbelief in his little brother's tone,

"Not in a million years"

* * *

A/N- Next chapter is twenty questions.


	7. Questions

A/N- Sorry for the update drought, I had trouble writing this without making it sound like a Raymond Carver 'he said, she said' story.  
Remember people, I take prompts and suggestions.

* * *

Katerina arched her back, moaning as she rolled her hips and sunk back down onto Elijah's penis.

She ran her hands through her hair, tossing it out of the way as she increased her pace.

Elijah was sat up against the headboard, his hands on her hips as she straddled him, riding them both to their intense release.

A band of red silk gagged Katerina, to try and smother her screams of pleasure when she reached her orgasm.

She shuddered and her muscles clenched causing him to come apart inside her, sweat covered their bodies as she fell against his bare chest, panting with exertion.

He unties the gag and tosses it to the floor so that he can kiss her soundly, she opens her mouth to say something before reaching for the large water jug on the bedside table, drinking straight from it greedily and then tries to speak again,

"Mercy" she begs, he only chuckles and draws her back into his embrace, her head resting on his chest,

"This is your doing my darling" he teased as he stroked her back,

"You told me that as reward for caring for you during your hangover that I could demand sexual favours, but you failed to state any limitations regarding the acts or the length of time for which I could make these demands"

She groans and rolls her eyes, "You know it's hard to tell what you enjoy more, the sex or the bragging"

He kisses her again, "Hmmm, both are so infinitely enjoyable"

Their kiss deepens before he pulls away, grabbing her around the waist as he kicks the blankets down the bed, she squeals as he lays her down over his knee,

"_What_ are you doing?" she giggles as he pinches her backside, she is unable to see his satisfied smirk,

"I have decided that all complaints against my dictatorial reign in the bedroom shall be punished by a firm spanking" he brings his hand down on her ass and she cries out in surprise,

"I hope you know Japanese my darling" he warns and her beautiful brunette main tumbles as she shakes her head,

"Not a word my lord and…_Elijah_"

He spanks her again, "That is a shame, because I do not intend to stop until you have counted to one hundred for me in traditional Japanese"

Despite this threat he did relent when his erection was hard into her stomach and she took him in her mouth, swallowing him deeply and licking up every last drop.

Also, it was a Sunday morning and their time to laze about in bed was limited.

* * *

Sunday morning was usually a busy morning for the Original household.

Due to the excesses they tended to indulge in the night before, alarms were often ignored or thrown against the nearest wall and shattered irreparably in favour of a few more minutes of sleep.

Either that or someone is just coming in the front door at sunup, take-away coffee in hand as they complete their walk of shame.

Because of all these discrepancies, breakfast is a hurried affair, the adults darting around each other in the kitchen, grabbing whichever foodstuffs can be consumed quickly as Baby Erik sits in his highchair, arguably the only calm person in the house as his nanny Raina oversees everything with a surprising lack of judgement.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of chaos, when the doors of St Anne's church open, the Original family stride down the aisle, crowds parting as they take their place in the front row, a few minutes before Father Kieran comes out to begin the Mass.

Afterwards the congregation gathers in the flower garden for coffee and biscuits. Niklaus is quickly surrounded by socialites and eager women, human, vampire and witch, all eager for the attentions of their king.

Elijah meanwhile had Erik's hands wrapped tight around his fingers as he walked around the flowerbeds, pointing to the plants with great excitement.

Camille helped his nephew pick a tulip and kissed his cheek when he offered it to her. Raina was at the trestle table, making a plate of food for the three of them, using Elijah as distraction because otherwise his nephew would insist on 'helping'.

However, he was so busy playing with his nephew and chatting with Camille that he failed to realise that his Katerina had been blindsided by Francesca Correa, a member of the human faction, a woman who owned the Palace Royale Casino and more interestingly, the largest drug cartel in New Orleans.

Perpetually in a suit much like Elijah, she had little more than a passing acquaintance with Katerina Petrova, both women had quickly realised they had little in common and Katerina had realised even sooner that Francesca's eyes spent far too much time on the elder Mikaelson brother.

Any woman who came to Bourbon St trusting in their seductive techniques to win them the heart of an Original was sorely disappointed.

Klaus was keeping his affections reserved for Caroline Forbes and Elijah Mikaelson already had a lover, Katerina was considered to be possibly one of the most beautiful women in the French Quarter and dripping in raw, naked sensuality.

She satisfied him completely as only a skilled lover could do.

They had a turbulent history together but even the rumour mill begrudgingly admitted that she utterly adored him and he was entirely devoted to her.

So when he picks up on her apparent distress he walks Erik over to Niklaus to be swung up in the air and strides over to Katerina just in time to hear her make a few choice remarks about Francesca's looks, personality, wardrobe and life choices in general.

She spins on her heel and nearly collides with his chest, he steadies her with his hands on her waist and raises an eyebrow to the placid face of the woman behind them,

"I do hope I'm not intruding?" he speaks politely but allows frost to creep into his tone, not that he doubts for a single second Katerina's ability to handle herself in a verbal sparring match, but in his kingdom, in _his_ presence, she shouldn't have to.

Francesca's lips thin and she struggles wordlessly for a few moments before attempting to smile, "Not at all, Katerina and I were just talking shop"

Katerina is visibly seething and Elijah squeezes her waist once to hold her in place lest he have to spend his Sunday afternoon out in the Bayou digging a shallow grave.

"Well, do excuse us" he responds, "_Katherine_ and I have matters to discuss"

No-one who wasn't a member of the Inner Circle of the Royal Court called his darling by her given name and even then they had to have earned her friendship before she'd allow such casual use.

Katerina presses her foot on his, her shoe digging into his toe, he smiles and moves to the side, resting a hand on her back and guiding her back into the church, into a gated chapel right inside the entrance. Two witches were lingering in the back pews but a sharp glance from Elijah had them scurrying outside.

Katerina paces the short distance excitedly, her movements jarring as her temper grows,

"What did she say?" he asks interestedly but she waves a hand, "Nothing, she is nothing more than a cashed up wannabe mafia _putana_"

Elijah slips his hands into his pockets, "Clearly she said something to upset you"

"And what would _you_ know about that?" she rounds on him, her hair flying around her shoulders,

"How would you _know_ what it is that makes me upset? How do I know what upsets you? I _don't_ because I don't know _you_!"

His jaw drops in confusion and he struggles to follow her train of thought, "Katerina…"

She holds up a hand, "I can't…"

She brushes past him and hurries from the church, moving so quickly that when he steps out into the bright mid-morning sun, he can't see her anywhere.

* * *

Half an hour later, Elijah is striding the length of Woldenberg Park, along the path adjacent to the Mississippi looking for the familiar silhouette.

He's noticed that Katerina ends up here a few times a week and seeks the water as if it offers her answers or comfort she can't seek elsewhere.

When he fails to find her he becomes worried.

Her first instinct for five hundred years was to run.

He swings past Conti St but it hasn't been opened in weeks, she's not at the manor on Bourbon St nor at any of her regular haunts.

His heart is in his throat when he returns to the Garden District, his skin is cold and clammy.

He has one foot on the stairs when he hears a thump from above, he focuses on his hearing and can determine that the sound came from their loft.

He hurries up to their bedroom, they are the only two allowed in their sanctuary.

Stepping inside, his heart drops when he can't see her but her scent is strong and he can hear her heartbeat.

He follows the sound to their large dressing room and finds Katerina sitting on the white carpet beside her shoe shelf with an eighteenth century trunk at her feet.

His possessions are scattered everywhere and his fingers twitch with the desire to clean everything up and put it back in its place.

She holds up a bundle of letters that he had tied up with a crimson ribbon,

"Margot de Valois" she snorted, "_Really_? What was every respectable, clean woman vacationing in the country that summer?"

He clicks his tongue at the invasion of his privacy, "Do you really want to compare past lovers my darling? At least none of my exes coined a term for violent, out of control vampires"

She drops her eyebrows, "_Touché_"

He leans against the doorjamb and picks the skin around his thumb,

"Dare I ask why my life is suddenly under the microscope?"

She's rifling through a book now, a series of sketches Niklaus had gifted him,

"Learning stuff about you" she answers absently and he scoffs,

"We live together Ekaterina, we've known each other for five hundred years…"

"What's my favourite food?" she demands, interrupting him with bright eyes,

"What's my happiest childhood memory? What's my favourite book or movie?" she throws his book back into the trunk,

"You can't answer those questions about me and I can't answer them about you! Sex isn't _knowing_ someone Elijah, and we can go hard every night but if we don't know anything about each other it will all fall apart"

Francesca Correa deserves an award.

It is an extremely exclusive group of people that can cause his Katerina mental distress, in fact, before today he had thought it was a circle of one composed of his little brother.

He crosses the room and crouches down in front of her,

"Alright" he takes her hand, "Ask me anything my darling, we can spend the rest of the afternoon learning everything there is to know about one another"

* * *

"How did ice-cream come about?" Katerina asks half an hour later as they walk through the Garden District, each of them with a small bowl of brightly coloured desert in hand.

Elijah shrugs, "It wasn't me but I haven't the faintest idea, it always bewilders me when someone looks at food and wonders the outcome if they were to do something disastrous to it"

After she'd accepted his invitation to spend the afternoon together, Elijah had suggested they go for a walk, in part to calm Katerina down, she was filled with nervous energy and in part because he wanted them to be seen out together, happily in love lest Francesca get any more ideas of sabotage in her head.

"What is your favourite food?" he asks curiously as she scoops the rainbow on a tiny plastic spoon, she contemplates the question for a moment,

"Any traditional Bulgarian meal" she decides, "_Sehnsucht, _I suppose I should call it, craving for my homeland even though I'd feel completely displaced if I went back"

"When was the last time you were there?"

"Fourteen ninety-eight" she swallows, "After that…there was no reason for me to return"

She blinks and shifts away from that dangerous path, "What about you my lord? Favourite food?"

He runs his tongue over his teeth, "Nothing in particular but I do love artisan foods and meals that have been artistically designed. When my family and I were human, our staple diet was meat, vegetables if hunting had been bad and herbs were used sparingly. Meals were times to sit down and talk but otherwise, eating was over and done with quickly. Now, I enjoy seeing the creativity chefs use when cooking and all the foods available to me"

"And being able to eat whatever you want whenever you want" Katerina agreed,

"What's your happiest childhood memory?"

He grimaces, "My childhood consisted mostly of keeping Niklaus away from father but…there was one day in spring, we were all still so young…we were playing some sort of game and I suppose Finn must have lost because we all jumped and climbed all over him, smothering him with kisses until he had to wash his face. I don't think Henrik had been born yet" he kissed the crown of her head, "Yours?"

They were walking down St Charles Ave, past a fresh market and Katerina threw their empty bowls in the garbage bin,

"It was a festival day, the Feast of Saint Ivan I think, the village was wondrously decorated with colour and so much food and music. My little sister- Nadia- had just turned five and the baker gave her and I two fresh pieces of bread as a gift. They were still warm and I remember sitting in the middle of the square, the sun on our face and children all around us as we ate"

She takes his hand and sets the path, he assumes they're heading to the Mississippi and wonders if she even realises where she's leading him.

"Any favourite films?" she asked but he shrugged, "The Wizard of Oz? It was the first colour film I ever saw, I was enamoured with the beauty and vibrancy on the screen, no favourite books I'm afraid…"

"Too many centuries and too many different works to choose" she interjected, "We have that in common"

Good. It was good that they had things in common.

They reached the water and Katherine's hand released his so that she could grip the railing, the movement seemingly automatic. Elijah stands with his chest to her back and wraps his arms around her shoulders, his cheek pressed against her head.

She relaxes in his embrace, her uncertainty and anxiety from the morning gone, a sharp breeze races across the water and she snuggles further into his arms, his jacket covering her sides. He kisses her hair and gathers his strength, rephrasing the sentence in his mind many times before finally giving voice to his thoughts,

"You had a child before we met" he stated softly and she tensed momentarily before nodding, "A girl…I…I never even got to hold her"

He tightens his arms around her in sympathy for her grief before continuing,

"And her father? Will you tell me about him?"

He can almost hear her walls slamming back into place and wonders whether he will have to dedicate another month to chipping away at her defences until she opens up to him again,

"Why don't you tell me about _Tatia_?" she snaps, her hands gripping the railing which should have her name permanently etched in this very spot by now.

But Elijah doesn't rise at her anger or allow himself to feel irritated, instead he watches the waves and sinks back through the centuries until he is standing in the village square.

"Tatia was engaged to be married, sailing with her fiancé, a captain when she was shipwrecked on the coast of Virginia. She was discovered by Ayana and brought back to the village where she bore her child, however she fostered it out to the local tribe, it was shameful for her to have been pregnant at all of course. She lived with an elder who'd lost his family to plague the last winter. She was beautiful but unlike you or Elena her hair was always plaited or up out of the way. Niklaus was entranced by her but every man in the village was eager to be her suitor…but he and I fought over her which is why mother decided to use her blood in the ritual"

Katerina is wriggling impatiently but he bends his head to whisper in her ear, "I never slept with her my darling, I was an honourable fool who believed in waiting until marriage. I'm not sure if that matters either way but…_you_ are the only doppelganger I have ever been with"

She huffs and turns her face so he can kiss her cheek, "I was betrothed" she offers, "I wasn't a slut, he was my first and my only…I was an idiot and I thought he loved me, he was a silk merchant and could have provided well for me. He was orphaned and had travelled as far as Poland so I was utterly besotted with this adventurous man. He asked my father for permission to marry me and we decided to be married in the spring and maybe even traveling together"

He nods, "What happened?"

She sighs, "A witch hunter came to Kazanlak and he was accused, found guilty and burnt"

"Oh" he leans over and pries her fingers off the railing before she breaks a bone, her grip is brutal, he cups her hands in his and turns her around, holding their hands over his heart,

"I am so _sorry_ my Ekaterina"

She purses her lips and shakes her head, her brunette locks bounding on her shoulders,

"He…he lied to me, he wasn't who I thought he was and used me badly, when the time came. I lit the kindling myself and stood there watching him burn"

_Well_.

He supposes it is something to know that he and Niklaus weren't solely responsible for Katherine Pierce. She had always been lurking there in the darkness, waiting to emerge.

Katerina pushes herself onto her toes and kisses him, "So we know each other's favourite things and our first loves. Anything else?"

"Do you ever miss Stefan?" he asked quietly,

"No" she swallowed, "He meant a lot to me for a while, but nothing compared to what I feel for you"

She tilts her head, clearly a thought only now occurring to her, "Why did you fall in love with me in 1491?"

"Because you were the first person outside of my family to play with me. I…I don't let people in Ekaterina, I'm not sure why but I don't really know how to. I assumed you would stay at arm's length like the rest of the world but for some reason I grew close to you and I felt…innocent, care-free when we danced or flirted"

She is smiling now and takes his hand, walking backwards as she leads him across the park, "How about we head on back to Conti St my lord and see if I can flirt you out of those clothes?"

He chuckled, "I thought you were exhausted after this morning my darling?"

She pulls him closer and brushes her fingers over the front of his trousers causing him to wince and glance about to make sure that they aren't attracting the attention of the other people in the park,

"That was _hours_ ago Elijah, besides…" she nipped at his earlobe and dropped her voice to a husky whisper, "I'm wearing the pink lingerie you bought me"

* * *

The walk between the park and the house on Conti St usually took half an hour.

He had them there in five minutes, using vampire speed he got them through the front door to the second floor landing before deciding they weren't going any further.

She is laughing at his impatience and enthusiasm until she's moaning as his hands explore her and her legs are draped over his back.

Afterwards she's squealing and trying to fend him off as he tickles her mercilessly, when she surrenders unconditionally he carries them to their old bathroom, his mind already racing ahead with ideas and his body announcing its enthusiastic support for any and all suggestions.

They're standing under the warm spray of the shower while she washes his back before he can remember the final question he had meant to ask,

"What was his name?"

"Hmmm?" Katerina hums, kissing his shoulder blade and pinching his buttocks, "What?"

"Your last fiancé, what was his name?"

"Oh" she murmurs in realisation, "Markos"

"Huh" he grabs the sponge out of her hand as it strays down to his thighs and starts his own washing/enticing of his beloved.

He momentarily considers revealing that Tatia's fiancé bore the same name but decides against it when she sinks to her knees and teasingly takes him into her mouth.

* * *

A/N- BOOM

A/NN- Sehnsucht- nostaglia, longing etc.

A/NNN- Sorry for breaking from the happy, pwp story- this is the only time I swear.


	8. Gone

A/N- Hey guys, sorry for the delay in the update but I lost inspiration for a little while but I'm back now.  
This chapter is dedicated to ScarletRose who did pick up on a minor discrepancy regarding Nadia's father- yes it originally was the priest but I changed it to Markos because that's much more exciting. Your chapter of their human lives is coming up.  
Also To Turn This Around- Here is you chapter of vulnerable, insecure Elijah and Guest from last chapter, here is what you were after as well.

Here we go!

* * *

Elijah drew down the zip of Katerina's ball gown, from just under her shoulder blades all the way down to her lower back, his lips ghosting over her neck as she sways on her feet.

They had been attending a ball thrown in their honor by one of the latest wealthy vampires to have relocated to New Orleans, gathering around the Originals like moths to a flame. Personally he didn't care for all the sycophants but Katerina enjoyed the dancing and the socialization.

Still, she is exhausted now, waiting patiently for him to undress her as he does every night so she can climb into their soft, white bed.

However, when he kneels to unclasp the artful monstrosity of her pumps he hesitates, earning himself a gentle chuck under the chin with the sharp point,

"If you want me to wear heels to bed tonight my lord I will be happy to oblige" she purrs, leaning down from her sitting position on the edge of the bed,

"But not these heels, they're _killing_ my feet"

He kisses the arch of her foot and raises his worried eyes to meet hers, "Are you happy my darling?" he asks quietly as he draws the shoe off and she tenses, frowning, "Of course, why?"

He shrugs, suddenly feeling foolish "I was just making sure"

"Is this because of Mr Harrogate?!" she shakes her head, "Elijah, the man is an asshole but hardly the first guy to hit on me at a party, you would not believe the number of offers I get, even when you're in the room, I'm hardly about to run off with a pompous old lord…besides" she adds with a pout as she reaches down to play with the front clasp of her strapless lace bra, "He only offered me a tropical island, I want to hold out for something a little…_more_"

The bra drops beside his foot as her other shoe clutters to the floor, she falls back against the bed with a breathy laugh as Elijah quickly strips down to his boxers and joins her.

She tastes of champagne and secrets, he tries to drink both from her lips that night as the moon rises and she refuses him a third time,

"I'm exhausted Elijah" she moans as she turns her face from his next kiss, "And…_ooh_…a little sore"

She rolls over and settles down as he silently drapes an arm over her stomach and kisses her cheek,

"Goodnight my darling" he whispers tenderly, receiving only the soft sigh of sleep in reply.

* * *

The next morning he has an appointment out in the Bayou, well, he calls it an appointment but the werewolves he is meeting with keep time by the sun and don't have the same respect for punctuality as he does.

He walks through soft earth and underbrush that stains his shoes and pants, he gets thrown into the swamp by a couple of young werewolves with delusions of grandeur. He beats some sense into them, with slightly more force than necessary but he had been wearing a handmade suit that has been irrevocably destroyed by the impromptu swim.

The Garden District is closer to the Bayou than Bourbon St and easily accessible by compelled taxi driver, so it is just after midday when he steps over the threshold of their bedroom.

And immediately he can tell something is wrong.

The air smells different.

"Katerina?"

He calls her name unnecessarily, he can't hear her heartbeat and the shifted gravel in the driveway told him that she had taken a car this morning.

And more besides.

He sweeps through their bedroom, the living area and the rooftop garden. Everything appears to be in place until he reaches the bathroom.

Every week a team of maids clean the house, they were apparently running late today because they had yet to clean the wastebasket beside the sink.

Her make-up brushes, mascara, foundation, her razor, her hair brush, tooth brush- she had thrown them all away.

He flashes to their walk-in wardrobe and knocks the shoe case aside, behind the case is a rough cut in the wall, done quickly in the hopes no-one would notice. It was just a large enough space for her to hide her go-bag.

The name-brand duffel bag which contained a passport and drivers licence with the name Vanessa Addison.

Fifteen grand in traveller cheques and five grand in cash.

Two jeans and three blouses.

One leather jacket.

One pair of boots.

Six pairs of lingerie and two pairs of socks.

He'd known about the go-bag from the moment she had hidden it behind the shelf. It'd had caught him unawares but for the next month he had been hyper-vigilant, watching her for any sign whatsoever that she was considering running.

That had been eight months ago and eventually he'd stopped checking to ensure the bag was still there, still unpacked.

Perhaps if he had continued checking he would have guessed.

The go-bag was meant to be light and easily transportable but she had taken a car, which also meant…

He pulled open the wardrobe doors, his eyes darting frantically, cataloguing the outfits, and counting them all to be certain.

She'd taken all her evening gowns and some of her cocktail and day dresses.

She'd even taken the 1950's couture silk organza evening dress that he'd bought for her because it was the exact shame crimson shade as the gown she'd worn the first night they'd met.

She'd left the lingerie he'd bought her, the silks, lace, she'd left the evidence of their love-making behind but she'd taken the gowns she could sell.

He crashes onto the white velvet ottoman in the middle of the room, runs his fingers through his hair, clenching it as he screams his frustration and grief.

* * *

A door slams and footsteps hurry from the studio at the other end of the house, clattering up the stairs and pushing open the bedroom door before freezing on the threshold, grabbing the doorjamb to keep from entering,

"_Brother_?" Niklaus calls, "What's the matter?"

From the depths of darkness and the cold pit Elijah finds his voice,

"She's _gone_"

The words tumble from his mouth, leaving bruised lungs in their wake and a raw throat that makes it impossible to breathe.

"She has left Niklaus. Katerina has _left_ me"

Stating the fact does not make it any easier to accept. In fact, it makes it that much more painful.

He hears his flesh and blood open his mouth and close it again, can see him frowning in his mind's eye, his hands clenched in fists at his side,

"Are you sure she left 'Lijah?" he asks cautiously, "It hardly seems…_likely_"

There is blood under his nails, he can't remember if it belongs to his aggressors or to himself,

"Katherine always was one for achieving the impossible, how many times was she believed dead after all?"

There's a huff of acknowledgement, a boot is lifted off the wooden floor to step into the bedroom and Elijah unconsciously clenches his fist until his manicured nails break the skin of his palm and blood drips onto the pristine white carpet.

* * *

"_This is our room" Katerina sashays in her stilettoes from wall to wall, inspecting every nook and cranny, Elijah admires the breath-taking view from the glass door leading to the rooftop, he can already imagine stargazing for endless nights._

"I want to have this kitchen working" she tells him, "Coffee machine that would make a Michelin restaurant jealous, we could have lazy breakfast in bed days"

"Or family meals up on the roof?" he suggests lightly but immediately senses her tension,

"Maybe" she waves her hand dismissively, "What's important though, is that we make this place our home, everything we could possibly want"

She comes up and takes his hands, squeezing them, "I want this to be our sanctuary Elijah, the place we retreat to when we're tired or vulnerable, where we find peace and strength"

He brings her hands to his mouth, kissing them gently, "Then our sanctuary it shall be" 

* * *

Niklaus hesitates and turns away, the sanctuary unviolated as Elijah grieves.

After her first few weeks in New Orleans, Katerina had seemed less fearful and had started enjoying their present and constantly prattled on about plans for 'their future',

'_Their future_'

Yet here she had gone and found a life without him.

Half an hour later Niklaus returns to the threshold with his son clutching his fingertips,

"Brother" he calls quietly, "Come play with your nephew"

Elijah lies propped up on an elbow in the nursery, alleviating the tiniest portion of his grief by reading fairy tales and making plush toys dance to the little boy's amusement.

It is late afternoon when his nephew is placed down for a nap and Elijah is hovering aimlessly by the large swimming pool, enjoying the shimmering of the water when he hears the unexpected sound of a car engine and rubber over gravel.

The engine cuts out and a door slams, footsteps shift from the gravel to the grass and then the stone tiles of the front path. Curious, he strides over the large lawn around the corner of the house.

He sees a hint of heel and designer handbag disappearing through the front door, it's kicked closed and the front hallway light is switched on, casting a golden glow through the windowpane.

Elijah's heart is in his throat but he doesn't use his supernatural speed, he is too terrified of the outcome to rush towards it.

Better to exist in this endless anticipation when there is still chance for any outcome to become possible.

He walks through the yard, into the back of the house, through the kitchen and dining room, circling the parlour before he climbs the stairs and checking that the curtains in the ballroom have been properly closed. He takes a deep breath before he reaches the door and forces himself to step into his bedroom.

She is there.

Thank Odin and all the gods, she is _there_.

"Who the hell bled on our white carpet?!" she screeches, "And our ottoman, blood doesn't come out of _white velvet_!"

She turns to him with an outstretched arm and absolute fury,

"Why does it look like someone tried to kill you in our wardrobe? Did someone try to kill you? I can't believe someone had the gall to attack you in such an expensive room, it's just so rude"

Elijah is aware that she's speaking but he can't process her words, he can't process anything other than the fact that she's here with him, in their sanctuary.

He approaches her just as she realises that her shoe shelf has been knocked onto its side and goes quiet, looking up at him with confusion,

"What _did_ happen Elijah?"

He closes the door, "I lost control it doesn't matter"

She blinks, "Lost control? You? Elijah Mikaelson lost control?!"

He kisses her forehead and wraps an arm around her as he leads her to the rooftop, she follows him cautiously, confused by his actions but she still leans into him as they stand at the balcony,

"Where were you today?" he asks quietly and she frowns,

"Out running errands" she flicks her hair back from her face in a gesture he's long since recognised to indicate that she's hiding something.

But she's here.

In a black fringe dress and black wedges, with vintage jewellery, her hair loose down her back.

He stands behind her and ghosts his nails down her arms, she shivers with delight and he breathes into her ear before he kisses her neck. She smiles and kisses his cheek, pressing her back against his chest as he reaches down to her thighs and lifts her dress up, exposing her only momentarily before his hands disappear under the skirt and find her black silk boy cut panties.

"What are you doing my lord?" she giggles as the strip of black silk falls to her ankles, she kicks the material away and slips her foot back into the shoe. He steps around in front of her and cups her face in his hands drawing her in for a passionate kiss, their tongues clashing and he nips her lips, she follows him when he pulls back and opens her eyes when he drops to his knees, running his hands over her smooth thighs and pushing her skirt out of the way,

"Elijah" she laughs as he presses his forehead to between her hips, "_What_ are you doing?"

He kisses her left thigh, "Loving you, my precious darling"

He kisses her and runs his tongue between her folds, dipping it in and swirling as her arousal wets his lips. Her fingers tangle in his hair and she arches her back, whimpering and gasping at the sensations, his hands hold her thighs as he uses all the tricks he knows to bring her to orgasm, she climaxes with a moan and grips the railing for balance as he kisses her lovingly before climbing to his feet, subtly using his pocket square to wipe his mouth.

She runs a hand through her hair as she trembles with the aftershock, he plays with the strap of her dress before meeting her gaze to find her watching him intently,

"What's wrong Elijah?" she demands but he gives a flippant smile,

"Nothing my darling, come inside" he takes her hand and leads her to their bedroom but she reaches out and grips the doorjamb, standing on the rooftop as she examines him, her eyes narrowing slightly as she tries to understand his sudden change in behaviour.

The sudden vulnerability underneath his facade.

"I thought you'd left me" he admits quietly, grimacing as he turns his face away,

"You were so secretive yesterday and when I saw your clothes were gone…I assumed the worst"

"That I'd _left_ you?!" she tosses her head, "Elijah _why_ would you think that?"

"Your go-bag is missing for one" he points out, "Along with several of your gowns and you threw out your beauty products"

She sighs and crosses her arms, "I moved that bag weeks ago 'Lijah, I have it a drop site along with some things for you in case we ever need to flee,"

"If we're ever at the point we need to flee Katerina, I highly doubt your evening gowns will need to come with"

She shrugs, "If you must know, I was having them tailored, becoming human again…my weight dropped after that bout of food poisoning so the gowns needed to be adjusted to fit me now. Something I did not feel like admitting to the world considering it's a sign of weakness"

"I'm not the world Katerina," he snaps, feeling raw and foolish "I'm the man who loves you and I was frightened"

Her eyelids flicker and she softens, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his neck,

"I'm sorry" she presses her lips in a gentle kiss over his long-dead heart, "I didn't realise that you'd worry"

He takes a shuddering breath and rests his forehead on her hair, "You shouldn't have to you were barely gone nine hours"

She shakes her head, "You were patient with me when I first arrived in town, how many times did you have to reassure me that I was safe? Let me assure you that I'm not going anywhere"

She steals a kiss and then another and another, Elijah holds her tight against him and she moans appreciatively, arching her back to press her breasts and hips into his chest,

"I love you" he whispers fiercely as they break for air and she wraps a leg around his waist,

"I love you and I have need of you, if you'll let me"

She laughs low in her throat, "Whatever you wish 'Lijah, I'm not going anywhere"

A glare in his eyes catches his attention, he sees that the sun is beginning to set and the plan is half-formed in his mind as his hands push the straps from Katerina's shoulders, the dress slowly sliding off her body and to the floor. She steps out of her wedges and moves to the bed but he stops her with a light brush on her arm,

"Have we watched the sunset from our room yet?" he muses and she frowns in thought,

"I don't think so"

He hums and guides her back, twirling her under his arm and over to the large window that overlooked the garden, she pressed one hand against the glass, looking over her shoulder as he undressed, "Really my lord?"

He shrugged and threw his tie onto the bed, the rest of his clothes and his shoes ending up somewhere in the same vicinity.

"You and a sunrise my darling" he stroked her hips and rubbed his naked flesh against hers, "What could be more beautiful?"

He slides into her with the exceeding tenderness for which she knows him but immediately he realises that it won't be enough. His heart is still aching, trying to heal the wound caused by his fear, his terror of exposure, of having opened himself up and let someone in only to have them leave him because he was not enough. He was never enough.

He slams into her and she cries out, her other hand coming up to clutch the windowsill, his own hand covers hers on the glass and she grinds against him,

"Harder," she demands with lust thickened voice, "_Faster_"

He never has been one to deny her.

He sets as rough and fast a pace as he can without fear of hurting her, he seeks her climax as selfishly as he does his own, fighting his demons inside her.

His only demand is that she keeps her eyes open so that they can watch the stunning colours dancing across the sky as the sun sinks into the horizon, readying the world in which only they exist for night. The gold and orange paint Katerina's skin and he wishes he could kiss the colours into permanency.

Her next orgasm chases these romantic notions from his head and bring him back to his wondrously primal act, he pulls out of her to flash across the room for a chair and she shouts in protest at the sudden loss of contact. He draws the chair and sits down, bringing her down onto his lap,

"Around" she demands and he helps her spin so that her legs come down behind the armless white plastic and they resume their coupling. He thrusts up into her and she kisses him fiercely as she clenches her muscles to bring him to release.

But his demons are still inside him, whispering their poison, so he thrusts harder and deeper and when she begins to flounder he carries them both across the room to their bed, dropping them down onto the mattress without ever leaving her.

His tie is under her back and on impulse he catches her wrists, stopping her hands from roaming freely and ties them to the white metal bedhead in a makeshift knot. She laughs when she realises what he has done and hoists her legs further up his back, giving him better access as he finally begins to find his release.

By sheer accident they climax in unison and come down together with eyes wide with disbelief and tender kisses.

"Feeling better my love?" Katerina asks lazily as he lays his head on her breast, he kisses her flesh gently,

"Much better, forgive me my darling?"

She nods and stretches with a purr, "I should get my clothes tailored more often"

He rolls his eyes, "And your toiletries?"

She shifts a little, spreading her legs so that he's settled more comfortably on her, "I throw them out every two months my lord, yours too, haven't you noticed that your toothbrush changes colour every eight weeks?"

He actually hadn't but it would explain why is straight-edge razor had never seemed to need sharpening, he kisses her breast in silent thanks and trails his fingers across her stomach, petting her lovingly,

"Elijah" she prompts after a moment, he lifts his head and she tugs on the tie binding her wrists to the bedhead, "Are you going to release me?"

He gives her a mischievous grin, "No I think not, in fact…" he blurs to the chest of drawers and finds two more ties he flashes back and grabs her ankles and she shrieks with laughter and feigned outrage, he ties them to the bedposts, leaving her spread-eagle and open before him,

"I think I shall keep you here all night" he announces, climbing back up her body and stealing a kiss as she pouts,

"Smile my darling if you ever hope to be released, also until I say otherwise you are to call me master"

She gives him a smouldering smile, "I see your insecurities are gone my master"

"Almost, now open wide Ekaterina"

* * *

A/N- If you look REAL close there was almost some plot there.


	9. Tenth Century

A/N- Sorry for the long lapse in update.

This chapter is for ScarletRose one of my favourite readers. This chapter is Elijah imagining his human life with Katerina in 10th century America

I wrote Elijah with basic understanding of medieval patriarchy but hopefully kept his human character as canon as possible.

P.S- Hey, are the names of Katherine's parents known anywhere?

TW- Abuse,

* * *

**Elijah**

She had always existed in the periphery of his world.

But his life had been days of labour and nights keeping himself between his brother and his father's abusive hand.

He hadn't the time for more than a cursory acquaintance with the villagers.

Although that wasn't to say that he hadn't heard the scandal when she fell pregnant out of wedlock, the father apparently unknown.

He had crossed paths with her once when she was close to birthing the child, she had been out fetching water and was struggling to carry the heavy bucket.

He had offered his services and she'd gladly accepted, resting a hand on her large stomach as she led him to her dwelling.

She lived with her family, a family that treated her like dirt for having ruined herself.

Her father greeted Elijah suspiciously and demanded to know whether or not he was the one who had impregnated his daughter.

He and Katerina had spoken over each other refuting the idea and red with humiliation, tears in her eyes, she had thanked him for his kindness and bade him good day.

He saw her again six months later when she'd recovered from the birthing and her figure had returned to the virginal slimness albeit with curves that had the men of the village deciding that her beauty far overcame the shame of her ruin.

One summer afternoon, Elijah had gone to the Quarry to fetch water for Ayana when he'd come across a group of boys huddled in the bushes.

He'd recognised some of them as sons of the baker, woodmen, hunters and had been about to ask them what they were doing when he noticed what it was they were watching so intently.

Katerina was bathing under the waterfall. She emerged from the water, exposing her smooth bare back to the eager eyes.

The boys are tittering in their excitement and do not notice Elijah picking up the large branch until he brings it down onto the legs of the baker's boy, he yelps in pain and turns with fists raised before seeing who his attacker is.

"Leave," he orders the boys, "All of you now"

The branch falls a few more times, not heavily enough to break skin but the boys are limping back to the village with sore backsides and wounded dignity, hopefully with the lesson instilled in them that spying on bathing women was wrong.

"Thank-you"

Elijah freezes, still facing the path to the village, his back firmly facing the Quarry and the woman now emerging from the water. He hears the rustle of clothing before a gentle laugh,

"You may turn around now"

With an embarrassed smile he spins on his heel and nearly lands on his backside when he sees that she is only wearing her shift. The dampness of her skin holds the material to her body and he knows he should be averting his gaze but…

Words fail him, as do thoughts or actions.

Katerina leisurely resumes dressing, slipping her blue dress over her head before laying her hand on his left arm,

"They are not allowed to look, but you are"

That night Niklaus asks why he keeps holding his left arm.

* * *

By the next winter their courtship is as official as if the lawman had scribed it on parchment.

Kol gleefully reports that half the men in the village are envious of Elijah and the other half are dredging up the old insult of 'outsiders', the name their family had been given when they had arrived from the Old World.

He ignores them.

Not because he considers himself above them in any way but because he is far too busy rushing through his chores so that he can spend as many free moments as possible with Katerina.

By mid-afternoon the two of them will escape to the forest and steal kisses from one another or hold hands and talk for hours. Venturing deeper into the woods as his siblings started finishing their own chores earlier and earlier to spy on them.

He hasn't seen her undressed since the Quarry nor does he wish to, he is a man of honour after all.

Although one morning she is fetching Ayana after her mother falls ill with a fever and he corners her against the side of the house as they wait for the witch to gather her medicines.

They are so wrapped up in each other's presence, he is kissing her so soundly that neither of them hear the footsteps approaching.

The bucket of icy water Mikael throws on them has them both shrieking with shock.

His father stands there with the instrument of torture still in his hands, "Untangle yourselves and get to your duties both of you"

His siblings spent the rest of the day breathless with laughter and merriment until Elijah came down with a cold and was bedridden for two days while Esther fed him almost an entire cauldron of disgusting herbal remedies.

He emerges from the sickroom worn down but feeling much better and after being relieved of his duties early by his concerned father he goes looking for Katerina.

In humiliation he hadn't asked for news of her while he was sick but Niklaus had whispered through the thin wall that her mother continued to ail.

He'd assumed that Ayana would cure her as she always did but when he approaches her house he sees the torn black material hanging from the door.

Helplessly he fetches water from the Quarry and brings it to the back of their house, he waits patiently and eventually Katerina comes outside, her face pale with exhaustion and grief.

He calls her name and she treads wearily into his arms, weeping on his shoulder,

"My father has fallen ill as well" she tells him with a numb voice, "I do not know if he will survive the next full moon"

The villages free from the curse of the werewolf bite had to flee to the underground caverns every full moon, it was a trying experience, the caverns were always freezing, damp and it was a hard task getting to them in the first place.

He asks what he can do to help and suddenly a high pitched wail comes from inside the house, Katerina shakes her head,

"Nadia will not stop crying…she wants to play but I have not…"

He offers to take care of the child, if nothing else having five siblings taught him how to keep young children entertained.

When the sun begins to go down he carries Nadia home with him, his siblings taking the baby from his arms and playing with the child, seeing it as an easy form of entertainment.

Finn comes home from the tavern and glares at the child as if it is a demon in disguise,

"You had best be careful brother," he tells him patronisingly as Esther and Mikael begin to make their way home from Ayana's workshop and the field.

"The men of the village know that Alexander shall not last the night, some of already declared that they shall take Katerina tonight and might even consider marrying her in the morning"

His blood runs cold and he hands Nadia to Rebekah as he crosses to his father's chest and throws it open, grabbing the first sword he can lay hands on.

* * *

He is halfway across the village square when he hears the raucous shouts of the men, they are storming loudly from the tavern and stumbling towards the Petrova house as many of the village women bar their doors but watch from their windows.

He is sneaking around the back of the houses when he hears his name, Katerina runs into his embrace sobbing in fright, a cloak thrown hastily around her shoulders and a bundle in her arms,

"I heard them coming" she gasps, "Father is not yet dead but…I could not risk being caught, he told me to run"

He kisses her hair and takes her hand, whispering a quick assurance he leads her through the shadows and darkness, spurred on by the shouts of the men calling her name and their outrage when they fail to find her.

He hears his name called and they arrive at his family home with a drunken mob on their heels, he pushes her inside as Mikael emerges with a sword in hand,

"Father" Elijah points to the advancing men, "We must help her"

He frowns, "She shouldn't be our problem" he shoves Niklaus back inside as he tries to leave with a sword to aid his brother,

"She's a slut anyway"

He can hear Katerina entreating his mother but words are lost in the increasingly loud shouts of the men who are drawing closer, he holds up his sword,

"Whatever happens tonight, I am marrying Katerina in the morning, now you can either have a woman raped by a dozen men for a good-daughter or a woman whose next child will most assuredly be mine own"

Mikael sighs and is still pondering the decision when the first man gets close enough for Elijah to turn the flat of his sword on him and knock him to the ground.

The men didn't come armed and even if they had, they were not soldiers, Mikael's weapons were the only ones they had ever seen.

"Alright then" his father steps finally forward, "The woman is under my protection, go home the lot of you"

"She's a whore" Lukas the blacksmith's apprentice argues, "She's had a man inside her before"

Always eager for a fight, Mikael holds his own sword up, "Are you challenging me boy?"

The crowd disperses with side glances at the sword but unwillingness to try the deadly blades, every one of them had spotted the boys learning to wield the weapons in the village square and decide that even a beauty such as Katerina is not worth the fight.

When they are gone, Elijah throws himself into the house to find Katerina hiding in his and his brothers' room, her daughter held tightly against her chest as Niklaus crouches in front of her with his own sword in hand.

He thanks his little brother with a clasp on the shoulder and then gathers her to his chest, holding her as she shivers and trembles with fear. 

* * *

He does not marry her the next morning as he told his father he intended, but he instead escorts her home, prying Nadia from Rebekah's reluctant arms so that Katerina can bury her father.

He helps her burn his clothes and clear the house as the day wears into night, he is reluctant to leave her and plans to sleep by the fire lest she be in danger.

She emerges from her bedroom naked and tells him to spend the night in her bed.

He doesn't refuse.

He marries her once the mourning rituals for her parents are complete, carrying her over the threshold of her house as his siblings once again take Nadia to play with and they are given three days to enjoy their marriage before they once again have to resume their duties.

Niklaus brings Nadia back to them with half his face black with bruises and his left arm suspiciously held. Katerina stares at him in horror and then quietly invites him to stay for dinner.

The next morning his father comes to collect him for the hunt and he reluctantly kisses his wife goodbye as they go to join the men in the forest.

Niklaus is never allowed to hunt with the men, forbidden by father but Kol joins them and peppers him with questions about married life, in good humour the other men involve themselves, teasing him and joking until they pick up the trail for a stag.

It is a week before they return home with several kills, Elijah himself felling a stag and being assured that it was a promising omen for his marriage. He walks his father home, despite his eagerness to reunite with his wife only to be stopped by Mikael placing a hand on his arm,

"Marriage is fun at the beginning" he allows, "But you must remember to keep a firm hand on your wife, your woman is headstrong and if you do not beat her for her infractions she will bear another bastard"

He thanks his father for his advice and hurries home to find his brother Niklaus sitting by the fire, holding Nadia patiently on his lap while Katerina cooks them dinner.

He knows that Mikael's blood is always up after the hunt and home is not a safe place to be right now but he is jealous of how happy Nadia looks in his little brother's arms.

After all, now that he is married to Katerina, Nadia is his daughter.

He takes her and kisses his wife soundly on the mouth, she is glad to hear that the meat has been taken to be smoked and promises him that she will fetch it on the morrow.

When dinner is finished, he is resting his hand on her thigh and glancing to their new bed chamber formally having been her parent's, Niklaus begins to take his leave but Katerina invites him to stay in her old bedroom and to mind her daughter.

Elijah takes offence at that and argues that 'their' daughter is old enough to sleep unaccompanied, Katerina ignores him and fairly begs his brother to stay, Niklaus is all too eager to accept.

After that night, he never goes home, moving into their house as a means of escaping their father, eager to perform any chore that means he gets to continue living with them.

* * *

A year passes and the village forgets Katerina's shame once she is respectably married and when she falls with child many of the women offer her congratulations and endless advice about how to avoid illness or miscarriage.

Unfortunately, Katerina goes into labour when they are in the caves, her water breaking two months early and he and the men of his family have to seek company with the blacksmith and his family while his wife labours through the night with Ayana and Esther at her side.

Rebekah had been determined to see a baby born but after one glimpse had run terrified into Kol's arms and swore she would never lie with a man.

It is nearly dawn when they finally hear the wailing of a new born and Esther finds them with tears in her eyes,

"You have a son" she exclaims joyfully, hugging him before he can run to his wife.

Katerina is exhausted but exhilarated, holding the baby in her arms as he carries Nadia in with him, he embraces her and when the sun is climbing in the sky he lifts her from the caves and Baby William opens his eyes in the bright light.

In the second year of marriage, he comes home late from the tavern one night completely drunk, Katerina is in a bad mood from her second pregnancy and scolds him loud enough to be heard by their neighbours.

He is mocked badly for that by the men who notice that Katerina is the only wife in the village who has never been seen with a bruised face. Esther is the one exception as she is a known witch but the men suggest that perhaps Katerina controls him instead of the other way around.

That night she is berating him for refusing to speak to her and he smacks her across the face.

It is the only time in their marriage that he ever raises a hand to her.

Regret floods him instantly and he drops to his knees in apology, hugging her legs as he begged for forgiveness over and over again.

He expects her to cry but instead she picks up the white hot poker from their fire and swears that if he ever hits her again she will unman him.

After that, he is proud of his strong wife and will tell any man who thinks to tease him.

* * *

Their life together is blessed, Elijah gets five more sons from Katerina before she begins drinking herbal tea to prevent pregnancy.

Still, his virility brings him respect in the village and he prospers in his trade as well, with his success he can purchase the house and land next to their own which Niklaus moves into.

He is still forbidden from hunting with the men but goes off on his own for two weeks every so often and brings back enough fresh game to ensure that he is never a burden on Elijah.

Years pass quickly and Nadia, his eldest child grows quickly into a beauty that has the young men of the village chasing after her.

Elijah and Katerina both keep a firm eye on her and when the men realise that they can't have her, marriage proposals quickly follow.

Every night it seemed a different father was knocking on their door asking to speak to Elijah and was politely turned away.

Elijah was eager to find a good man for Nadia but she had kept refusing them and Katerina added her voice to hers, pointing out that she and Elijah had married for love.

However, when the chief of a neighbouring village came asking about the young beauty and promising dowry, Nadia caught one glimpse at the handsome son and declared that she would marry him.

Elijah was heartsick at the thought of his one daughter travelling so far away and suggested instead that one of her twelve male cousins might be suitable.

Nadia refused and that night when the house was asleep she snuck out and gave the chief's son Alexander her maidenhead by the Quarry, waking her father the next morning with her stained shift as proof.

It was the first time Elijah had ever lifted a hand against any of his children, after hurting Katerina and seeing the damage Mikael had done to Niklaus all those years he had sworn he would never harm his children, instead preferring to reason with them but Nadia's stupidity had made him furious beyond measure.

Fortunately Alexander was as stupid as she was and that afternoon knocked on the door expecting to be married to her, Nadia was sore with a backside raw from the spankings but smiling as they were wed and given a room in Niklaus' house to have their wedding night.

* * *

They left a month later for his village and Nadia bid her parents a tearful goodbye as the dowry of pelts, game, herbs and two old pieces of gold is piled into their home.

Elijah is glad that he only has sons after her and not have to bid them goodbye.

That night, after the village is done admiring the dowry, Lukas the blacksmith knocked on his door one night and asked him to the tavern, Katerina had opened her mouth to refuse him but Elijah had readily accepted, needing to drink away his sadness.

Three tanks of mead in and he had explained his motives.

He had explained that he had been the one to take Katerina's maidenhead all those years ago, having promised her marriage and then spurned her believing that he could do better, believing in fact that he might be able to marry Rebekah who had refused him. He claimed Nadia's paternity and as her father, he demanded at least half if not all of the dowry.

Elijah recalled the horror Katerina had displayed when Lukas had offered his son in marriage to Nadia and her absolute refusal the moment he was gone.

He mentioned this and the blacksmith only shrugs before muttering, "Well…I knew if she was anything like her mother she'd make a great fuck"

The next full moon he is tragically slaughtered by the werewolves when he somehow fails to make it to the caverns in time. He and Katerina never speak of him.

All in all they are married for thirty years and see three grandchildren before Elijah takes to his bed with an illness he knows he shan't recover from. Katerina tends to his every need and when the time comes, he is surrounded by family and friends.

Completely loved.

* * *

A/N- Next chapter Katherine imagining her life with Elijah in 15th Century Europe


	10. Fifteenth Century

A/N- Man I don't even know what I did with this chapter.

So continuing on from last week, there was some confusion, Katherine and Elijah are IMAGINING their HUMAN lives as they would have been in 10th and 15th century. Although I forgot the human part and wrote a different ending to this story where Elijah turns Katherine. I don't know people I've had a lot of weird food today.

Also, for those of you with profiles, where can I go/how do I check how many followers I have?

* * *

Katerina had been stunned the moment she had met Lord Elijah, as if all air had left her body.

She had managed to utter the proper greetings and bob a curtsy but her eyes had stung every time they'd left his face.

And he…

He had looked at her with such _wondrous_ disbelief.

He'd made her feel beautiful but nervous all at once.

She spoke slowly that night, enunciated her English accent, made sure that she was charming and witty.

Or as much as she could be.

Somehow, she and Elijah had spent most of the night standing there in silence, struck dumb by each other's company. Their teasing misconstrued and their jokes falling flat.

Niklaus had arrived, late to his own party and greeted her in Bulgarian, she had giggled in joyous disbelief but when he had tried to lead her away from his brother, away from Elijah they'd both stuttered and stammered about the fascinating interest of their discussion which they couldn't possibly be drawn away from.

Two golden eyebrows had shot up to meet the golden hairline but he had yielded and left them to their exquisite awkwardness.

But at the end of the evening, when she was lingering on the stairs, feigning difficulty with her cloak so she could delay her leave, she gazed longingly about for Elijah only to jump in surprise when he appears in front of her.

Ever so gently, he undoes the tangled knots that paired with a good gust of wind would likely strangle her and boldly she reaches out and rests her hands atop his,

"Thank-you my lord"

His lips are thinned, he nods and bids her goodnight as Trevor leads her to the barge.

* * *

She spends the night tossing and turning in her bed, one moment recalling how much he had lingered in her company and the next moment remembering that she had been as witty as a donkey.

She could barely rise the next morning, she was pale and drawn from exhaustion.

She is feeling colourless and dresses accordingly in a grey dress with black sleeves and kirtle.

Dispiritedly, she does not join Lady Grey for breakfast but sinks into the window seat in the gallery with an ungraceful thump.

She is resting her head against the cool windowpane when she hears a footstep on the rushes, she looks up curiously and wonders if she is dreaming.

Lord Elijah is standing before her in the chilled gallery, a vision so unlikely that she pinches the skin on her left hand to ensure that she is not dreaming.

The corner of his lips upturn ever so slightly and he comes forward just as she tumbles to her feet,

"Good morning my lord" she murmurs, so stunned that she fails to hold up her hand and he has to reach down to lift it up to his lips,

"I did…I was not told that you were joining us today"

He coughs, "No…I…uh" he winces and tries again,

"I received word…this morning that Lady Grey has been summoned to court immediately, she is leaving today in fact and I thought…perhaps…rather than you being left here alone that you might wish to come stay with Niklaus and myself"

The bells of the local church began to toll to ring in the seventh hour of the morning.

She could barely hear them herself, she was too busy noticing the faint blush that graces his cheeks.

A lock of her hair tickles her neck and she realises that she'd yet to dress it, she reaches up to tuck it out of the way but Lord Elijah still holds her right hand in his own, she swallows and tries to find the right words,

"I…thank-you my lord, you are most kind"

He smiles and escorts her down to the courtyard, where she takes her leave of an absent-minded Lady Grey as Elijah has her horse saddled and brought around for her.

They are three miles down the road before she remembers that she hadn't packed a single possession and when they arrive at the castle, a team of servants are sent hurriedly back to fetch her things.

* * *

Everything proceeds wonderfully after that.

They both find their voices and natural wit in the bright days filled with games in the garden or rides through the forests and long evenings when he read to her the romances or she played the lute for him until weariness overcame her and he'd escort her upstairs to her chambers, infuriatingly kissing only her hand as he bade her goodnight.

That is, until the summer turned to autumn and he chased her laughingly through the garden, only this time he caught her and held her in his arms as he kissed her mouth and broke away only to utter two words,

"Marry me"

She wasn't sure if it was a question or a demand but she eagerly said yes and kissed him back.

They are married a month later in the castle church with their neighbouring lords in attendance.

She is married in a gown of marigold yellow, with matching ribbons in her hair.

Everyone wishes her well and though Niklaus arrives late to the celebrations he does not spoil her happy mood.

She is dancing with one of the many Plantagenet girls when she notes her husband's absence, she goes in search of him and finds him in the side hallway in an intense conversation with a red head woman with a sour face.

The woman departs and she laughingly accuses him of searching already for a lover. He pulls her into his arms and whispers in her ear that he doesn't plan on having the time or the energy to find a mistress.

She quivers and suggests that it rather might be time for their wedding night.

Unfortunately Niklaus insists that they bid the guests goodbye first and the ensuing ribaldry and suggestions make Katerina's cheeks burn bright red.

Elijah sends her ahead to his bedroom with her maid and stays behind to ensure that nobody follows them in the interest of witnessing the consummation.

She dresses in a white sheer nightgown and tries to untie all the ribbons from her hair, her hands are trembling and the maid assures her that all will be well, that she has married a gentle and proper lord and that after the first time it shan't hurt so badly.

She knows this. She inhales slowly and sits on the edge of the bed, running over and over in her mind the farce she has prepared for the night.

Elijah can't know that she isn't a virgin, she would be disgraced.

He comes to her shortly, still dressed but with the assurance that nobody is within earshot of their chambers.

She laughs and he draws the heavy curtains of the bed to keep in the warmth and offers her wine, she shakes her head and waits nervously in the enclosed space as he undresses and comes back in only a nightshirt.

They kiss and he lays her down gently against the pillows, hovering over her and kissing her again and again until she is breathless and his hands lift up her nightgown, over her head until she is naked before him.

She blushes and covers her breasts with her hands but he draws them away and replaces them with his lips until she is gasping and writhing against him.

His nightshirt ends up on the pillow beside hers and she steals a glance before blushing and turning her face away. He takes her chin in his fingers and kisses her, muttering sweet promises and assurances before he runs his hand down to her thighs and parts them so that he can guide himself to her warm entrance and-

She gives a sharp cry and unintentionally bucks, her nerves having made her muscles tense, tears spring to her eyes and he gathers her into his arms, apologising for the pain, swearing that it shall only hurt this one time.

Relieved that her act has been believed, she settles back against the pillows and he gets on with his…well, the act and she finds that after the initial intrusion it really isn't so unpleasant.

In fact, the second time it is rather nice and the third time he rolls onto his back and tells her to pretend she is riding a horse and she finds that bedding can be quite enjoyable.

She falls asleep after the fourth time and wakes the next morning wrapped up warmly in her lord husband's arms.

They kiss and cuddle, laughing when he finds a yellow ribbon still tied in her hair and claims it for his own until his manservant brings in food and he throws back the curtains to welcome the day as she pushes back the covers.

When her confusion and distress over the lack of 'buckets and buckets of blood' that she was told was custom at a consummation becomes apparent he chuckles and assures her that it is only a little bit of blood and when she is not comforted, he takes a book knife from his desk and pricks his wrist, ensuring that the sheets are appropriately stained.

After they break their fast in bed, feeding each other the bread and cheese, Elijah gets dressed and sends in her maid who Katerina makes pleasant small talk with whilst sending prayers heavenward in thanks that her ruse worked.

She is finally married. Finally respectable and looks forward to her new life.

* * *

That winter they are invited to Court for Michaelmas and Katerina goes with sumptuous gowns and songs on her lips as she and Elijah ride down from the north, stopping in the homes of nobles who readily welcome the married couple.

The Court is a dance of delight and finery.

King Henry VII determined to prove his royal status by showing off his wealth to the kingdom.

There are endless days of dancing and general festivities that Katerina enjoys right up until the moment she realises that she has caught the king's eye and that he would very much like to make her his royal mistress.

Memories of her ruin haunt her at night along with the great loss she suffered. So no matter how bright the sparkle of the jewels he sends to her or the promises he sends through missives, she sends back each present and makes sure that everyone can see how deeply she is devoted to her husband.

When the king invites her out to hunt in a party of two she claims illness and spends the day in bed with Elijah, frolicking with him between the sheets as she teaches him a few words in Bulgarian and he teaches her to read in English.

She receives a carefully worded letter from her cousins in February, telling her of an orphaned girl that they have in their care, a sweet little child of two years called Nadia,

"Like your sister" Elijah notes, stroking her side as she sits on his lap,

"It is a common name" she tells him quickly,

Her cousins ask if she, in her new station, might be able to spare coin for the child and she barely has the request worded in her mind before Elijah promises that they will send a bag of gold for the little girl.

She thanks him warmly and her hand strays to her still flat stomach before they are distracted by a messenger knocking on their door with another gift from the king for her to send back unopened.

They leave Court suddenly in March, after King Henry, furious and impatient with Katerina's refusal, challenges Elijah in the joust and, despite having his armour misplaced so that her husband is forced to ride without cover, is humiliatingly defeated being knocked to the ground while Elijah walks away without a single scratch.

Niklaus is not at the castle when they return, a week or so after her marriage there was a strange night she could not quite recall and both brothers went missing for two days before returning and since then, Niklaus had clearly been restless and spoken often of visiting their sister Rebekah in Rome.

Katerina herself suggests that they might join his siblings, in need of distraction as their first year of marriage draws to a close and she has yet to show any signs of being with child in spite of sharing her husband's bed every night and many afternoons.

Endearingly, Elijah never comments on her continuously flat stomach but insists that they remain in England for a while yet, giving vague answers when she questions him.

It is not until July, a week after her birthday that she finally discovers why.

* * *

Her husband had been absent for the entire day but she hardly noticed, she had been in the creamery supervising the maids when his manservant asks her to join her lord husband in the Great Hall.

When she comes upon him, he takes her hands and draws her to the window, kissing her tenderly and telling her that he loves her.

He then notes how she had been sending a purse of gold to her orphaned cousin in Bulgaria each month which she panics at momentarily before he tells her that he thought, as they had a great deal of wealth and no dependents, perhaps it was their Christian duty to take the child in?

Her world spins about her and she can hardly bring herself to nod before the newly employed nursemaid comes in with the bundle of a child in her arms.

At first glance, Katerina is terrified that Elijah will see the resemblance between them, but he only greets little Nadia cheerfully, kissing her tiny hand and introducing her to his lady wife.

"Zdraveĭte Nadia" Katerina murmurs holding out her arms and gathering her daughter against her chest.

She tries not to weep with happiness as she presses her cheek to her tiny head.

Her daughter is bewildered by the sudden changes in her life, used to sleeping in a bed with four other children and now in a large room by herself, in a foreign country where only Katerina speaks her language and she is taught to speak English.

In a large castle filled with people who give her as much food as she could possibly want and who dress her in fine clothes every day.

Katerina diligently hides how deeply she loves her daughter and Elijah chalks up her motherly tenderness to natural feminine temperament.

He too, cares dearly enough for the little girl that when he hears her crying at night, he will bring her back to their marital bed so that they can tell her fairy tales until she falls back asleep.

Another year passes and Katerina finally bears a child, a much longed for son who Elijah requests they call Henrik after his lost brother.

Their son thrives but Katerina somehow is unable to fall pregnant again, although Elijah never condemns her for it, assuring her that two children is enough for him.

Time runs quickly after that and Katerina's steps slow and her youthful glow fades.

Nadia however, grows more beautiful by the day.

When she is twelve, the resemblance is too great to ignore and Elijah confronts her with the indisputable fact that she was as much a virgin on their wedding night as he was.

She tells him that he can either accept her for all her faults or she and her baseborn child can leave.

Not that she ever has to. By the time she was five years old, Elijah loved Nadia as if she were his own, he considers himself her father and losing her would break his heart.

He offers to take them to Bulgaria, in the hope that Katerina could reconcile with her family.

She steps into his arms and they share a kiss of reconciliation.

* * *

Both their children marry exceptionally well, happily and advance at the English court despite the insanity of the reign of Henry VIII.

Their castle is a home of happiness and laughter as three generations settle under the one roof, grandchildren always underfoot and friends always coming for

dinner.

She lives to the ripe old age of eighty before she and Elijah die in each other's arms.

Well-loved and well content.

* * *

A/N- Next chapter. Nadia comes to the Garden District to meet Elijah for afternoon tea.

A/NN-

You know what, here's the original ending I wrote.

* * *

"Zdraveĭte Nadia" Katerina murmurs holding out her arms and gathering her daughter against her chest.

She tries not to weep with happiness as she presses her cheek to her tiny head.

Her daughter is bewildered by the sudden changes in her life, used to sleeping in a bed with four other children and now in a large room by herself, in a foreign country where only Katerina speaks her language and she is taught to speak English.

In a large castle filled with people who give her as much food as she could possibly want and who dress her in fine clothes every day.

Katerina diligently hides how deeply she loves her daughter and Elijah chalks up her motherly tenderness to natural feminine temperament.

He too, cares dearly enough for the little girl that when he hears her crying at night, he will bring her back to their marital bed so that they can tell her fairy tales until she falls back asleep.

A year later he receives a letter from his brother at dinner and announces suddenly that they are invited to join his siblings in France, where they had gathered after the death of the Borgia pope.

Katerina is surprised when he asks her how soon she can pack and argues that they can hardly leave with the harvest season coming up and Nadia finally coming to grips with the English language, furthermore, she is only four years old and the journey would be a gruelling one for any child.

Still, Elijah is adamant and reminds her firmly that as she is his wife, she is obedient to him. She continuously protests until, in a temper, he asks her if she is with child.

Her hand, which she is now in a habit of resting on her flat stomach, brushes the silk of her gown and, with gritted teeth she shakes her head.

He tells her that as she and Nadia had both made the journey from Bulgaria to England- a much longer and more treacherous path, they would think little of the travels to France.

She yields with little grace and that night when Elijah's hands touch her nightgown, she rolls onto her side and claims she has a headache.

* * *

Katerina is surly towards her husband for a great deal of the trip, insisting that Nadia travel by carriage and joining her instead of riding with Elijah.

On the ship from Dover to Calais, she watches her little girl nervously for signs of seasickness until Elijah swings his adopted daughter into his arms and shows her the fish in the water before pretending to throw her overboard to her squeals of delight.

They arrive in Rouen to find that the Sweat that plagues England has reached France, Katerina is terrified and wants to turn back immediately but Elijah takes them to the Guise Hotel in the city where he speaks privately to the current Guise lord in attendance and they are admitted with full honour.

However, disease seeps into even the noble houses of gold and silver.

Nadia complains of feeling hot one afternoon and Elijah carries her upstairs to her bed and she is fine by morning, Katerina dizzy with relief as she realises it must have been a false alarm.

Then she herself falls ill, she sweats and gasps for air, Elijah sending for physicians who shake their heads and suggest a priest.

She begins to cry from fear before Elijah presses a cup of tonic to her lips, it tastes foul and she tries to push it away but he forces her to drink it and that very evening she feels completely restored.

So restored that she climbs from the bed and plays with Nadia, chasing her from room to room until a strange hand from nowhere grabs her and suddenly she is falling down the stairs, landing on the floor with a tell-tale crack as her neck snaps.

She died.

But she does not stay dead.

She awakens with a gasp to find herself abed with Elijah holding her, apologising profusely for all their cross words and kissing her lovingly, she tries to tell him that she has had the strangest dream when he presses another goblet to her lips.

She opens her mouth obligingly but the liquid touches her tongue and she instinctively realises that she's drinking hot blood.

She fights but Elijah is so much stronger than her and forces her to drink the entire goblet, when he releases her she hurries to the chamber pot, determined to throw up but the blood settled heavily in her stomach.

She is horrified, certain that her husband has run mad and hurries from the room, desperate to see to her daughter lest Elijah has fed her blood also.

She is at the threshold of Nadia's chamber when her eyes go black and her fangs protrude from her gums, the nursemaid screams in terror and awakens Nadia just as Elijah grabs her around the waist and drags her back to their bedroom.

He orders her to remain still and she finds herself unable to move as he explains to her what he is, what she now is.

He says the word, he gives it the proper name and she wants to scream.

He claims that he never wanted this life for her.

She does not want it either.

She doesn't want the hunger that makes her face monstrous when she feeds.

She doesn't want to crave the blood of her own child.

She doesn't want the scalding pain that burns her flesh when she steps into the sunlight.

She doesn't want to remember any of this.

Worse still, she remembers the strange night he'd made her forget.

The night he'd carried her into the forest and stood watching as Niklaus had slaughtered two other women before turning on her in the darkest of sorceries.

When the Sweat leaves Rouen she wants to take Nadia and flee but while she had been cowering in her rooms, Elijah had been caring for her daughter who now calls him Papa and loves him dearly.

They ride at night for Paris and along the way he keeps his horse beside hers while Nadia rides in a litter, he explains everything to her again and again, how she is now immortal, ageless and powerful beyond words until she can make sense of it all.

When they arrive at the Louvre, Niklaus has a witch ready and waiting to perform the spell for the daylight ring, afterwards, Elijah takes Katerina out to hunt.

When the siblings tire of Paris they go to the Royal Court in Madrid, then to Venice.

Years pass and Katerina does indeed remain as youthful as she had been the night she died.

Nadia however, grows more beautiful by the day.

When she is twelve, the resemblance is too great to ignore and Elijah confronts her with the indisputable fact that she was as much a virgin on their wedding night as he was.

But with her mortality had passed her fear of shame and abandonment. She tells him that he can either accept her for all her faults or she and her baseborn child can leave. She knows that with her new power she could carve out a life with her child anywhere she wished.

Not that she ever has to. By the time she was five years old, Elijah loved Nadia as if she were his own, he considers himself her father and losing her would break his heart.

He offers to take them to Bulgaria, in the hope that Katerina could reconcile with her family.

She steps into his arms and they share a kiss of reconciliation.

* * *

Four hundred years later, their arguing routine is the only thing that hasn't changed.

Katerina had caught him flirting with a courtesan and had run off in a pique to Virginia where she had encountered a pair of gorgeous brothers. When the town had begun hunting vampires, Elijah had arrived to carry her off and now the Salvatore boys had no memory of their maker.

They bicker and throw insults until Nadia decides to take a holiday in Austria and Rebekah, Klaus, Marcel and Kol ask to join her. New Orleans is apparently too small for them to live comfortably while Elijah and Katerina are fighting.

And it is definitely too small for them to be within a hundred miles when they make up.

Katerina awakens with a yawn and comfortable stretch, looking around in bewilderment when she sees herself in the middle of a field in broad daylight.  
Elijah is beside her, as naked as she is herself but that only offers some explanation.

With a shrug she lies back down and allows him to draw her into his arms.

This is her life and she wouldn't change it for the world.

* * *

A/N- See how off track I went? I don't know people, I'm batshit insane today.

Also, may write an actual story based off this chapter.


	11. Afternoon Tea

A/N- You get an update, you get an update. Everyone gets an update!

So yeah, I updated three of my stories today.

ScarletRose, you need to PM me so we can discuss one of the upcoming chapters. Like seriously, you need to shoot me a message.

* * *

Pacing.

Caroline opened her mouth as the all-too-familiar form passed through her peripheral vision for the eighth time in that half hour but decided against it, he was nervous enough without her 'platitudes' as he called them setting him further on edge.

Although maybe he was crossing between the parlour and the sunroom because he wanted her to say something?

She mentally shrugged to herself, who knew with these Original men.

Caroline had known the Royal Family of New Orleans long enough to know that when the Mikaelson's felt anxious they would seek one another out, finding comfort in proximity.

Unfortunately the only Mikaelson's left available to Elijah on this mortal coil were Niklaus, Rebekah and his nephew Erik- all three of whom had been kicked out of the royal residence for the day.

Well- officially Rebekah was accompanying Klaus and baby Erik to a Wiggles concert, but unofficially, Caroline had driven them out of the house with a broomstick.

She'd enjoyed it too. Nik had growled at her when she'd prodded him with the straw broom she'd purchased just for the event and she just knew his form of revenge later tonight would be deliciously dirty sex.

She drives the imagery from her mind before she gets completely distracted and finishes the last cucumber square, sliding it onto the silver platter as Elijah finally comes into the kitchen and takes in all the food with confusion,

"I thought this afternoon was just the four of us, not half of New Orleans"

"It's a tea party Elijah" she points out as she checks the macarons, "You can't have a tea party without little sandwiches and cute deserts"

"You can when there's only one human sitting at the table, I don't think Katerina could possibly eat all those cakes and if you give her too many things at a time she tends to requisition them as weaponry and start throwing them"

Yes, the five hundred year old polyglot with more university degrees than most people had teeth had the maturity level of a three year old hopped up on sugar treats.

Caroline ignored his ominous foretelling and carried the cake stand outside to the table set up under the balcony,

"I think Cami might be coming over as well" she warns, "Katherine said something about having someone to monitor their behaviour"

Camille O'Connell, the bartender psychologist who had just finished her own degree.

Despite being human she had been drawn into the world of the supernatural and now headed the Human faction of New Orleans with her uncle Father Kieran.

Often she also was the only person with the balls to step up and remind the Original family to behave themselves so she frequently was first on the invite list for any parties they hosted.

She had been a prime choice for today's event.

At two pm Katerina was bringing her daughter to La Coeur Jardin to formally meet Elijah.

Nadia Petrova.

She'd had a rocky entrance into New Orleans, Katherine had spent weeks vetting her child to ensure it wasn't another false claim on her heart and the secrecy had led Elijah to mistakenly believe that she had taken another lover.

He'd nearly violently confronted Nadia in a park during a five alarm blizzard before Katerina had revealed the truth to him.

Afterwards he'd been eager to apologise, to extend friendship to the vampiress but unfortunately Nadia had been unimpressed by his treatment of her mother and the rumours she'd heard over the years.

She'd refused to meet with him until now, an afternoon tea that was the result of several months' worth of planning.

Caroline adjusted everything on the table until it was all one inch to the left and stepped back to admire her work only to find her back colliding with Elijah's chest and his arms snaking around her waist as his chin rested atop her head.

Klaus' brother was embracing her.

He'd been doing this recently, letting her in and growing more and more comfortable around her.

She'd come to think of him as a skittish cat, she had to let him see that she was safe before he'd approach but now that he felt secure he was no longer adverse to cuddles.

She enjoys the moment of peace before her ears pick up the sound of a car pulling into the white stone driveway and Elijah releases her to fiddle with the skin of his nails.

She fixes a smile on her face and moves to the hallway just as Katerina struts in the front door,

"We're here" she announces unnecessarily, her purse landing on the table as a beautiful brunette follows her across the threshold.

"Hi" Caroline gushes as Nadia Petrova takes in everything around her before finally setting her sights on her, "Caroline Forbes"

"I know"

Her accent is pronounced and when Caroline offers her hand she hesitates, still accustomed to the European form of greeting but she recovers quickly and they shake hands with matching smiles.

It's hard to determine Nadia's height, the love of heeled footwear seems to be hereditary, but the similarities between mother and daughter are there.

Both of them have brunette hair and olive skin, prominent cheekbones and the manner of appraising everyone they see.

Katherine hides hers behind sensuality, Nadia apparently doesn't bother, radiating no-nonsense and lethality.

Caroline can sense Elijah behind her and Nadia is tense, wary as Katherine moves to his side,

"Darling" he whispers, brushing his fingers down her bare arm,

"Elijah," she pulls him forward, "This is my daughter, Nadia"

There is no European cheek kissing or American hand-shaking, no smiles or gushing, instead the two powerful creatures eye each other, bringing to mind two lions in a territorial dispute, ready to attack at any moment.

The territory is Katherine, mother and lover. Both want her whole-heartedly, neither trusting nor knowing the other enough to share.

Caroline counts to three in her head but no lives are lost, "So…" she brightens her smile further, "Nadia do you prefer coffee or tea?"

Nadia blinks in surprise, "Tea"

"Just this way" Caroline ushers everyone out to the sunshine drenched patio, she wasn't Miss Mystic Falls for no reason, she's a Southern socialite and can navigate any situation that isn't a direct threat to her life.

Which this one isn't.

Yet.

As it turns out, she was right to provide vast quantities of food. To avoid making conversation, Katerina, Nadia and Elijah pile up their plates and dive in with the same eagerness that you'd see from people who'd been starved for days, especially when Cami gets called to an emergency shift at work.

Caroline pours the tea for Nadia and Katherine, deciding that the last thing Mother Petrova needs is coffee.

"So" Caroline begins brightly, "Nadia, what brings you to New Orleans?"

The young woman's brunette head shot up and blinked in bewilderment before pointedly glancing at Katerina,

"_Right_" Caroline winced, "Um…do you have any interests?"

Nadia carefully chews the coconut ice in her mouth, either deep in thought or questioning Caroline's sanity before swallowing,

"I like weaponry" she offers and Katerina smirks proudly as Elijah shares a look of dread with Caroline.

Wonderful.

A Petrova with an affinity for firearms.

Should they start digging the graves now or wait until they've finished their tea?

"Any other hobbies?" Caroline asks desperately and Nadia picks up a dainty cucumber sandwich,

"I enjoy plays"

She's selected an interest that everyone at the table can discuss.

Elijah having ensured that he, Katerina and more and more frequently Caroline attend the opening night of every performance that occurs in the renowned theatre houses, although he will go to the six Broadway shows each season only on sufferance.

They talk that subject dry, eager to continue the moment of ease and happiness until the conversation falters and Caroline quickly mentions the numerous galleries and museums around the French Quarter.

A shadow passes over Nadia's beautiful face and she belatedly realises that Nadia would associate art with Klaus, so recently her mother's enemy and now her ally.

Katerina steps in and brings up the bookshop of Giacomo Farnese, the man known for his information trading and famous for his unrequited love of Katerina Petrova.

She then segue ways into fashion because this doppelganger can and has discussed shoes in ten different languages.

Elijah then brings up their visit to Paris during fashion week, the incident between Katerina and the entitled American woman and the subsequent violence.

"The bitch spat on my shoes" she explained to her daughter as she sips her tea, "I burnt Atlanta to the ground for less"

"You really have to stop bragging about that my darling" Elijah reproaches lovingly, "Especially when we're this far south of the Mason-Dixie line"

"Ha!" Katerina rolls her eyes, "This coming from the man who dismantled the Berlin wall because he 'thought it was ugly'"

"Well _that_," he concedes, "And also, the only reason it went up in the first place was because Niklaus got drunk at Oktoberfest 1960 and had it erected because 'Germany deserved its own Great Wall'"

Nadia frowns, "The wall went up in August 1961"

"Yes" Elijah sighs, "And Niklaus still wasn't completely sober for another two months after the fact"

Caroline laughs, "I'm going to bring that up the next time he comments on my tequila habit"

More laughter and they compare notes on historical events they had witnessed or participated in as Caroline listens eagerly and notes that although Katerina constantly touches Nadia's hand and daintily picks out sandwiches for Elijah.

Her fiancé and her daughter avoid direct contact or conversation with one another.

She inwardly sighs, still some work to go there then.

* * *

Elijah waits until Katerina is in the kitchen helping Caroline pack the uneaten food into Tupperware for the needy before he goes in search of Nadia.

She is in the rose garden that he had planted for her mother when she returned to the Garden District.

She is admiring the blooming flowers and bends her head to inhale their scent,

"Damask rose" he explains to her, "Not enough for Katerina's bathing habits but beautiful all the same"

His fiancée had the most expensive baths in New Orleans, using the rose oil imported from Bulgaria on a monthly basis, she often bathed twice a day and emerged from the tub enveloped in the scent of the oil.

Elijah had become so accustomed to the wondrous aroma that he was close to developing a Pavlovian response, to become aroused every time he picked up the scent of a rose.

Nadia hums and steps back, her hands clasped loosely in front of her.

Beautiful and untouchable in her leather jacket and denim jeans.

Elijah casts about desperately for some conversation starter, some safe topic for them to discuss.

"You bear many of your mother's features" he compliments her awkwardly, unsure of how to reach her and evidently says the wrong thing for she casts a dark glance at him,

"I am not my mother" she tells him firmly, "She and I have _many_ differing opinions"

Yes, he understands immediately that she is pointing out that he is chief among them.

"Katerina and I love each other very much" he offers but she snorts not bothering to dignify that with a response and he can hardly justify his actions.

Not of the past five hundred years, not of the past six months. They fall into silence before she tosses another barb his way,

"Love and trust are not the same thing"

No, no they are not. Elijah is not a fool, he knows that where once Katerina had unpacked her go-bag she now had dozens stashed around New Orleans.

Still, he's earned her trust before, he can do it again.

"Nevertheless, we are to be married this spring and I would greatly wish for your blessing on our marriage"

He would like nothing more than to have her at the wedding, for Katerina to have her daughter's approval to marry him.

To have her join the royal family and to be a part of the kingdom they ruled over.

She snorts and turns away from the garden, back towards the house from which Katerina has emerged and is watching them,

"I will reserve judgment until after the honeymoon is over"

He wonders if she means the actual honeymoon or the honeymoon period all newlyweds experience.

He wonders if he can stretch that period out for as long as possible.

* * *

That night Elijah sits beside the bath tub while Katerina bathes, rubbing the oil along the skin of her arms,

"Do you think Nadia likes jewellery?" he asks curiously and she laughs lightly,

"You are not _buying_ my daughter's love Elijah, you can earn it the same way you earned mine"

"Stockholm syndrome" he deadpans and she throws the loofa at him,

"Patience and honesty" she counters, leaning forward so that he can scrub her back,

"You and she will be friends in time"

He kisses her neck and draws her back against the rim,

"I doubt that my darling" he murmurs into her skin,

"For she is intelligent and loves you dearly, as such, she would be a fool to surrender you to me"

Nevertheless, he holds out hope.

He and Katerina are married on a beautiful spring day in St Anne's Cathedral with many people calling it the event of the season.

Nadia is Katerina's bridesmaid, stunning in a draped bustier floor length pale pink gown, the speech she gives at the reception is sweet although reserved but she dances with Elijah for the second waltz and waves them off for their month long honeymoon in Paris.

Still, it is not until their first wedding anniversary when Elijah surprises Katerina with a trip to Bulgaria and invites Nadia along so that they can retrace their family history that he starts to see her warming up to him.

But Katerina was right.

Patience will pay off in the end.

* * *

A/N- So this is kind of a spoiler for New Choices but not too great a clue.


	12. Literacy Issues

A/N- Here we go, as requested jealous Elijah but I figure him to be a schemer who punishes those who try to seduce his girlfriend away as opposed to Katerina.

Her dress for the party is below.

forever new . /larnica-flower-applique-halter-dress-220351?colour=Midnight+Sky

* * *

Katerina picked up the embossed card of high quality parchment and once again read the classic calligraphy, the scarlet ink spread neatly across the cream.

_Dinner Party  
You are cordially invited to attend the manor of  
Countess Eleanor Salisbury  
On  
23__rd__ October  
9pm_

_Post-Script Dearest Katherine, I have so missed your presence at my table_

She drops the card back onto the dressing table with a knowing smile, she guessed it wasn't coincidence that the Renaissance Countess had postponed her arrival to New Orleans and her arrival party until she and Elijah had returned from the New York, catching the last of the Four Fashion weeks that had seen them in London, Paris and Milan beforehand.

No, the Countess was determined to enter the French Quarter society with a splash and to do so had to have the wittiest, brightest, most renowned guests at her dinner party.

And no matter what, that meant Katerina was in the top five names on the invitee list, if not first.

She had known the moment she'd received word of the Countess arriving in New Orleans that she would be among the first to be invited into her home.

After all, even when she was a known exile and hunted ferociously by Niklaus, she had been a staple guest at all the gatherings of the most famous and revered vampires, the bonhomie, the intellectuals, the ones who had been celebrated in their human lifetime.

Once she had been dining with the Marquis de Sade- who really _shouldn't_ have been given immortality- and had been forced to flee into the night because the servants had spotted Elijah approaching the Hotel.

She can giggle at the memory now as she stands from the dressing table with her make-up complete and pad barefoot to the walk-in wardrobe where Elijah was buttoning up his shirt,

"You look divine darling" he tells her offhandedly, and she smiles, adjusting her chandelier earrings.

"Thank you my lord" she picks his cufflinks from the drawer and threads them through the buttonholes, before slipping into her silver heels.

She stands up straight and nearly collides with Elijah as he draws her into his arms, his lips ghosting over her cheek to her earlobe,

"Do you know the time Ekaterina?"

She hums and presses her body harder against his, enjoying the thrill of warmth and pleasure

"Nowhere near enough time for what you're planning Elijah, unless you want to skip tonight?"

He releases her with a sigh, his hand reaching down and patting her bottom,

"No, the woman is an old friend of both you and Niklaus, anyone who can walk that fine line is someone I wish to meet"

She laughs and holds out her arms while he slips her silver silk cropped jacket on, she then reaches down and takes his hand,

"Do you remember the night you dined with de Sade?" she asks as she leads him through the warmly lit house to the garage where Klaus' silver convertible waited without the presence of the third guest.

She internally rolled her eyes, Klaus was always late to parties even if he was the one hosting them though he claimed it was because he liked to make an entrance but she knew it was because he tended to get distracted.

Likely he was at Bourbon St Manor reading a book or sketching, perhaps even looking to the endless papers he managed to accrue as King of New Orleans and had forgot the time or the event entirely.

Elijah shudders and Katerina can almost feel his arousal and erection disappearing,

"How in God's name do you know about that night?" he demands as he holds the door open and she shimmies into the car,

"I thought I'd killed all who knew about it"

She adjusts her dress and presses the button for the roof to come up, she didn't do night wind in a fast moving vehicle when she'd just had her hair tended to by the best stylists in town.

"I know" she continues as he climbs in and starts the engine, "Because I was enjoying a delicious meal of venison and swan before we received word of your arrival"

He starts and stares at her in disbelief, "You didn't know I was there!" she realises and he shakes his head,

"No and please, if you have ever enjoyed the intimacy between us tell me you didn't sleep with that man"

She shrugs teasingly, "Nothing wrong with a little S&M 'Lijah"

"No" he allows, "But there was a great deal wrong with de Sade…When a vampire who has seen centuries of debauchery is cringing in disapproval it's safe to say you've gone too far"

She laughs and the two of them are playfully bickering over the location of the invisible line of sexual experimentation all the way to Royal St.

* * *

Countess Eleanor Salisbury held no illusions about herself.

She was beautiful with white blonde hair and deep grey eyes, rose tinted skin and a spritely figure, she had done well in the court of Henry VIII but she knew that her wit was not sharp, her skill with dance, music or cards was not famed and her intelligence was not prominent.

In a world where beautiful women were a dime a dozen, she knew looks were not enough.

So she had decided to spend her immortal years refining her skills for hosting parties, balls, teas, salons and dinners. She learnt which foods to serve, which entertainments to provide, which locations were perfect and finally, the most important of all skills…

_Who_ to invite.

This skill came after she learnt how to ingratiate herself into any society she so wished, she learnt who to befriend and who to avoid, and then she figured out how to keep these people interested.

So her parties always had the best known members of society, the celebrities of the old description not the actors and models of Hollywood but the intellectuals, the authors, the artists, the bonhomie's mixed with the scandalous, the femme fatales, the charming sociopaths, the ones who had been the cause célèbre of their day.

That had meant that in the eighteenth century, she had invited Katherine Pierce to her salon in her rooms at Versailles and had been glad to do so.

After all, she'd taken one glance at that stunning face and figure and coupled with the rumours she'd heard of the Original brothers' fascination for the girl, had guessed that her exile wouldn't last forever.

And even if it had, the delicious naughtiness of dining with a woman hunted so relentlessly by the Originals whilst still maintaining her beauty and poise made Countess Eleanor even more popular a host.

She had grown bored with society in Budapest where she had been previously and, hearing that the Original family had built themselves a kingdom in America and that vampires across the world were flocking to them like moths to the flame she hadn't been able to resist the urge to place herself at the very centre of everything.

Unfortunately she had arrived in town just an hour after Katherine Pierce had boarded a private jet to Paris and had known immediately that to come out into society while the newly titled Princess was absent would be a grave error.

So she had waited and turned down invitations until the beautiful vampiress had returned and fortunately been able to throw the party a week before Halloween which would begin the party season in New Orleans, Countess Eleanor knew that if tonight was a success then she would have opened the season!

She is standing at her front door and welcoming guests as they file in when she hears the oh-so-familiar laugh of Katherine Pierce. She bustles forward eagerly,

"Dearest!" she calls as the stunning woman steps into view with the devilishly handsome lover- rumoured to be her fiancé- on her arm,

"My Lady"

She is greeted with a polite curtsey and bow, homage to her title of birth which flatters her, she holds a hand to her heart before opening her arms to embrace and kiss Katherine.

The peasant turned fugitive turned Princess is stunning in her flower applique halter dress that highlighted her youth and her seductiveness.

She broke away and brought Elijah forward,

"Elijah, this is Countess Eleanor Salisbury, Eleanor dear this is Elijah Mikaelson"

In truth, the Countess had not dared hope that Elijah would attend her dinner party tonight.

The man was a known recluse, preferring the company of his siblings or a very, very small, select few he trusted and knew intimately.

Of course she had sat a place for him but she had assumed that Katherine would arrive alone, or perhaps with Niklaus but he was known for arriving whenever he damn well pleased.

Still, she recovers from her shock without ever showing it and gives her hand to the handsome man, enjoying his warm brown eyes and gorgeous old world features.

"Thank-you for your invitation" he begins charmingly, "Katerina speaks warmly of you and highly of your hosting abilities"

Oh, there is nothing better than the knowledge that one had been right in their prediction.

Thanks to a mere kindness extended to a woman a few times over the centuries, the Countess was now a friend of the royal family.

"Not at all" she gushed, "Dear Katherine always brightens any room she enters and makes every event so wonderfully amusing" she draws him close as she leads them into the manor,

"I remember one salon I threw that went for three days where Katherine and Queen Margot of Navarre became very well acquainted with one another"

Elijah leans past her to spot the now blushing Katherine,

"Margot de Valois" he snorted, "Really? What was every respectable, clean woman vacationing in the country that summer?"

Worried, the Countess opens her mouth but Katherine counters quickly, "I never said I didn't sleep with her Elijah" she points out,

"I simply condemned you for doing so"

He sighs theatrically and turns to her, "Margot and the Marquis de Sade" he offers as explanation, "I'm beginning to think I should burn the bed sheets and send her to the Vatican for a cleansing"

The Countess laughed and watched over the night with delight.

* * *

Katerina was enjoying herself immensely, she was surrounded by fascinating people and enjoying good food and wine. Elijah was also clearly having fun, chatting with the guests around him and being charming.

Of course, Elijah was always charming to those he considered worth his notice but those were usually a limited number of people, to the rest he offered reserved politeness, but tonight his happiness was bubbling over, infecting the guests with good humour.

Katerina was matching him quip for quip, the two of them sitting across from each other at the table but drawing everyone in to the conversation, making every last person feel important and included.

Right now they were bickering lightly over which new learning would become prominent in the intellectual society in New Orleans to the general amusement of those around them,

"Some of us having a better understand of these movements than others" she countered Elijah's argument as desert was served,

"Said the woman who tried to seduce Oscar Wilde" he repartees to the delighted shrieks of laughter,

"He looked straight" Katerina protested with a gasp, Elijah finished his wine,

"So does the tower of Pisa when you're at a certain angle"

"He fooled us all for a little while there" the man beside her interjects and she throws him a conspiratorial smile, the man was Giacomo Farnese and she had met him shortly after her arrival in New Orleans.

She had still been getting used to her new human- albeit immortal- condition and hadn't recognised the symptoms of dehydration until she had collapsed just outside Woldenberg Park. He had caught her before her head had hit the ground and carried her to Decatur St where people knew who she was and had fetched Elijah.

He had sent her flowers during her recovery and they had become easy friends afterwards, especially when he had opened his bookstore café just outside the park, bringing in books from around the world in multiple languages.

She was often there once a week, enjoying a coffee with him while browsing his selections.

After dinner there was card games in the parlour and the conversation flowed until just after three am, the guests enjoying their company and the entertainment far too much to willingly leave but Elijah was a stickler for etiquette and one meaningful glance at Katerina had her rising to thank the Countess for a wonderful evening.

The two women were kissing each other goodnight and promising to see one another soon as Elijah was caught up taking leave with all those eager to gain the attention of the Prince, Katerina felt a hand on her elbow and turned to see Giacomo Farnese,

"Might I have a word Katherine?"

She smiles, "Of course, has the book arrived yet?"

He shakes his head, "No, but I expect it shall tomorrow morning, if you would be so kind as to call on me at noon?"

"Hmm?" she's distracted as Elijah drapes her jacket over her shoulders and kisses her hair lovingly, "Of course"

Half an hour later the car horn breaks through the silence of the night at the Garden District as Elijah curses and lifts her off the steering wheel, throwing the driver's seat back to create more room as she unbuttons his pants and straddles him, kissing him fiercely as they join together.

* * *

They spend the next morning in bed, draped over each other lazily while they discuss the previous evening, noting that the arrival of the socialites signified that the supernatural court of New Orleans was becoming far more civilised, less soldiers and bloodshed, more parties and discourses.

"Although the King is rather lacking in any refinement" Elijah notes disgruntled as he pulls Katerina squealing down the bed and tickles her,

"At the very least he could have shown up"

She shrugs, or tries to, it is hard when she's on her stomach with his weight on top of her,

"Let him keep everyone guessing, it'll stop the titled supernaturals from creating precedence entries and demanding positions in the kingdom"

"Well" he nips at her ear in an unusually playful mood, "I demand that you remain in that position for the immediate future my darling"

She giggled and moaned when he teased her with an inch of his cock, "Yes my lord"

* * *

She was a few minutes late to meet Giacomo at the bookstore, striding along the pavement as quickly as possible in her new Bally Shantal boots, she brushes her hair out of the way as she sweeps through the door and stops with a sudden halt.

The store is empty, she moves a few feet in and turns around slowly, wondering if she should be concerned for an attack.

"I decided not to open today"

Giacomo came out of the staff entrance, a warm smile on his friendly face,

"I know how much you hate the 'hoards of philistines' that come looking for the latest erotic fiction"

She nods in acknowledgement, hand on her hip, "If only my shoe stores were so accommodating"

He laughs politely and takes her arm leading her to the comfortable leather armchair by the window where a pot of coffee was waiting along with a plate of bite sized Turkish delight.

Warning bells are going off in her head as she sat down.

This was a lot of effort for him to go to when she was just purchasing an Ivan Vazov novel, she sits herself down with more grace than usual, her knees and ankles together, her hands on her thighs as he pours them both coffee.

She takes the china cup and nearly breaks it in her hand when she realises that it's not the usual café mug but expensive antique.

She sips the rich coffee and once her taste buds identify it as a likely Italian import she nearly drops the cup and leaps to her feet,

"This is lovely Giacomo" she gushes, "But I promised Elijah I'd meet him for lunch so…"

"Please my dear lady" he takes her hands in his own and presses them gently,

"This will only take a moment, I think you have already guessed the reason I asked you here today"

She grits her teeth and shakes her head, "Don't…"

But he ignores her, refusing her order,

"I love you Katherine" he reveals with a steady voice, "I love your beauty and your charm, your strength and determination, I love you for your ability to survive everything life throws at you and still find joy in this world. I want you to know that I love you and that I hope, with your permission, you'll allow me to call you by your Christian name"

She took a deep breath and gazed around the store, "I'm with Elijah, the man I'm building my life with…"

"I know" he assures her, "But would have been unchivalrous of me to continue lying to you"

The hell with chivalry.

He's not the first man to have declared his love for her.

He's not even the tenth.

But this is the first time she has ever been surprised.

And hurt by the revelation, usually these declarations gave her a sense of power but now…

She'd honestly thought, for the first time _ever_, she'd made a male friend. A man who would be there for her without wanting to have sex with her.

She'd never had that before.

She'd _wanted_ that.

Now, she had a complication.

Worse, Elijah had mentioned he had business in this area and would likely drop past.

She had to get out now.

She pulls her hands free and rushes outside, breaking into the fresh air and breathing deeply before almost running from Decatur St. She races through the crowded sideways and ignores any potential distractions until she gets to Bourbon St, knowing that someone will be there.

Giacomo wouldn't dare follow her into the heart of the kingdom.

She greets the supernaturals who linger in the courtyard and hurries into the manor, up the stairs to the second floor, "Anyone home?"

"Depends who is asking" Elijah's voice answers.

She follows the sound to the study where he is sitting behind the desk flipping absently through the large stack of papers, her heart skips a beat but when he looks up his face is clear of any suspicion,

"Hello my darling"

She pouts, "Hello my lord and love"

"Have you had a good day?" she continues and he grimaces, "Somewhat"

Her hand tenses on her hip but she forces herself to remain calm, "Oh?"

"I was forced to cancel the meeting I had with the Mayor"

Ah the Mayor, she hates that man, jumped up prig with delusions of grandeur, she perches herself on the arm of the couch

"Why?"

"Because of you my darling love"

She frowns and her heart does another anxious dance in her chest, "What did I do?"

His lips tilt up and she wonders if she's out of danger,

"When I was walking down Perdido St I went past a flower shop" he stands and makes his way over to her,

"A woman was leaving with a bouquet of roses, we brushed past each other and the scent…" his fingers trail over her bare shoulder as he sits down on the couch behind her, she holds her breath and her heart is now skittering for a very different reason.

"You have trained me well my darling, with your daily baths in rose oil, I am no better than Pavlov's dogs…a mere whiff of the scent and I recalled the aroma of the steaming water you bathe in, the oil glistening in the bottle…"

Katerina gasps as his hands grab her waist and pull her backwards so that she's sitting sideways on his lap and she can feel his hard body, his hands sneaking under her shirt to patter across her bare skin, "The wondrous taste of your skin as you emerge from the bath to climb back into bed with me"

She moans appreciatively and plants kisses on his jaw, "Forgive me my lord"

He growls and pinches her bum, "My mischievous rose"

He slides his arms under her legs and back before standing and carrying her over to his desk, sitting her down facing his chair, "Your rose without a thorn?" she suggests and he chuckles,

"No my rose with thorns, dozens of them" he says as he slips off her shoes and his jacket, letting them fall to the floor together before his hands play with her black lace peplum top, "Thorns that I have the privilege to slowly and gently remove before I can enjoy the beautiful… oh Katerina _really_?!"

She smirks and leans back on her elbows, "Happy coincidence"

She was wearing a new lace bra, the cups decorated as roses and designed so that her nipples were just visible and at the very heart of the rose which grew darker in its pink layers as it opened.

He shakes his head and unbuttons her jeans, sliding them down her long toned legs and letting his eyes go dark when he sees the matching underwear, only this time with the clitoris being the centre of attention.

She gives him her seductive smile and teases him, swinging her legs up and down as he sits on the chair and brings it forward so that he is sitting between her thighs, he reaches up to tear her lingerie off but she shakes her head, reaching down to show him the four golden clasps, when she undoes them, she lifts her hips so that he can toss the piece of lace away.

"Now" he bites her inner thigh and she squeals, "Shall we see if my darling rose has sweet nectar?"

She laughs and tosses her hair back, closing her eyes and moaning appreciatively as he kisses her labia and lets the tip of his tongue dart out between her folds. She is already aroused and soon she is wet enough for him to penetrate with his tongue, playing with her eagerly, holding her thighs down to stop her writhing as he pulls back only to suck on her clit and drive her to orgasm. He slips two fingers inside her just as she comes down, knowing from experience how to overwhelm her, his fingers move gently but steadily and he drinks from her eagerly as she comes apart again.

His erection is hard and almost painful as he stands to his feet and gets his pants undone, Katerina reaches behind her for her bra,

"Leave it on" he orders her as she plays with the clasp and she smirks, setting back on her elbows, "As you wish my lord and love"

He smiles and thrusts inside her, so hard and fast that she nearly has another orgasm but he sees the momentary panic flash through her eyes and makes sure to be tender the next time. He has one hand propped beside her shoulder but he uses the other one to stroke her cheek,

"So beautiful" he murmurs lovingly, bending to kiss her, letting her tongue run along his and taste her. He knows how to calm her and how to conceal his darkest thoughts from her.

He knows what transpired today.

* * *

He'd had business near Decatur St, another damn witch opening another tourist trap of fake potions and voodoo dolls but regardless he'd decided to go speak to them to warn against the perils of selling vervein or wolfsbane. It had been a quick hour and afterwards, as was usual when he and Katerina had obligations so close in proximity, he'd gone to meet her at the bookstore, himself enjoying the works to be found there.

But when he had seen the closed shop from across the street instinct had driven him to hover just out of sight and to watch his lover and the Italian vampire as they stood by the large front window with the sunlight pouring down on both of them. He'd attuned his auditory senses and used his knowledge of lip reading to pick up the rest.

So he too had been present when Giacomo Farnese had declared his love to his Katerina.

And Elijah had felt…_offended_.

That wasn't to say he had been surprised, Katerina was willfully blind to all those who loved her from afar since she had started her new life with him but he was furious that Giacomo would dare be so uncouth as to put her in this situation, as to offer himself up as second option, a standby lest her relationship with Elijah ever fail.

His declaration had suggested that Giacomo saw a future where Elijah and Katerina were not passionately in love.

Elijah's hand trails down to his darling's breast and he cups it in his palm before playing with the nipple through the lace. She whimpers delightfully, her breath coming in little pants as they near their completion. He kisses her again and slides his hand over the desk so that his body covers hers, his lips stray to her neck and he allows his fangs to drop from his gums,

"May I Ekaterina?" he asks softly as her muscles clench tightly around him,

"Do it" she gasps, her arms wrapped around his back her nails scratching his skin as he sinks his fangs into her neck and drinks deeply, tasting her as she falls over the edge and he follows moments later, coming apart inside her, giving parts of himself to her even as he takes from her.

She is soft and warm in his arms, murmuring his name and sweet nothings as he scoops her up and she wraps her legs around his waist with her arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder as he walks them to his bedroom.

Propriety would demand that he uses his supernatural speed but he knows that the creatures in the courtyard could have already heard them and the barbaric man in him thrills at this.

Let it be known that after receiving a declaration of love from another man, Katerina raced home to make love to Elijah- her life partner.

So he carries her slowly and when he lays her down on their sheets, he ensures that his pants are pulled up and covering him decently before strolling bare chested to the kitchen to fetch food and water for his lover.

He feeds her grapes and loves her again and again until she falls asleep in his arms, lying on her stomach with her head pillowed on her arms. He withdraws from her slowly and redresses, not bothering to shower before he leaves.

* * *

Giacomo has not opened the store when he knocks politely on the windows but after the barest second of hesitation he ushers him in.

"Good day Mr Mikaelson" he greets politely,

"Please," he waves his hand, "Call me Elijah, after all you and _my_ darling Katerina are friends are you not?"

Giacomo gives him a tight smile, "Of course, how may I help you Elijah?"

"I know my darling forgot to pick up her purchase today" he walks around, surveying the walls of bookshelves and the leather armchairs,

"I thought I would collect it for her, she is _indisposed_ at the moment"

Giacomo storms forward, "She is not hurt?" he demands, his fists clenching angrily but the eldest Original is not frightened,

"Not at all, she is simply…exhausted" he wipes the corner of his lips and sees the realisation in the younger vampire's eyes when the aroma of sex hits his nose. He looks stricken, "You know?"

He picks up a book and thumbs through the pages disinterestedly

"I know that Katerina loves me, she would never stray from my arms"

Certainly not for you.

The barb is unspoken but it finds its home.

For all his supposed chivalry and noble birth, Giacomo Farnese has the appearance of a man closer to forty than thirty, his hair is silver and his eyes are heavily lined. He was one of the best information traders in their world after Katerina herself but otherwise not remarkable. He wasn't astonishingly handsome or tall and his bravery might have driven him to make grant declarations but Elijah knew that he would never actively fight for her love.

Triumphant he looks to the counter, "I assume you have the book wrapped and ready for purchase?"

Giacomo nods defeated.

That evening, Elijah lay on his side with his arm wrapped around Katerina as she opened the book and began reading to him,

"In truth, as spring went on, the revolutionary movement made giant strides…"

* * *

A/N- Next week Katherine 'convinces' Elijah to take her to Paris for Fashion week as requested in the reviews. I'm still taking requests people- if you want to make one put REQUEST or PROMPT in capital so I will definitely read the line and make note of it.


	13. Fresh Green Memories

A/N- So I took two weeks to update, I'm sorry. I'm coming up to the end of semester here and I'm writing this instead of doing my graded uni work.

Anyhow- Katherine convincing Elijah to take her to Paris

* * *

Elijah knew his darling Ekaterina.

He knew when she was tired, when she was hungry, when she was amused, when she was happy, when she was nostalgic or when she was sad.

He knew her moods and her habits, her favourite outfits and her favourite pastimes.

He knew when she was up to something.

For the last month she had been listening to an eclectic range of musicians whose only connection was that they were all French.

For the last fortnight her wardrobe had been steadily emptied of 'last season's clothes' as she called them and she had written a long, long, long list of outfits she would need for the upcoming season.

For the last week their sex life had become…well…even more active than usual.

Elijah had never had a long-lasting monogamous relationship before so he wasn't aware of how often other couples made love but he and Katerina averaged at ten times a week.

However, over the last few days,

Klaus had exiled them both to Bourbon St after he'd caught them making out in the swimming pool,

"My son is learning to swim in that body of water!" he'd shouted,

"I now have to have it drained and cleaned with enough chlorine to kill a vampire because you are both filthy, disgusting, probably diseased _whores_"

And when Klaus- who'd just last week bought a café and extended it's opening hours so he could send Caroline's entire study group there and have sex with her in the library stacks- was judging you for your promiscuity…

Elijah wasn't able to finish that train of thought. He had been striding through the halls of Bourbon St Manor when Katerina had appeared out of nowhere and thrown herself into his arms, stealing a passionate kiss.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him as she reach up to run her hands through his hair.

Both of them were short of breath when he pulled away with a teasing barely there brush of his lips against hers that always left her wanting more,

"Hello my darling" he grinned, looking down at her flushed face and bright eyes,

"Dare I ask what I've done to deserve such ardour?"

Katerina bit her crimson painted lip and gave him a smouldering gaze that had his suit feeling too tight all of a sudden.

It didn't help that she was wearing a lace corset that pushed up her breasts, suspenders and tights that disappeared into sharp gold heels high enough so that she didn't have to stretch up to kiss him.

And he could have sworn that the outfit was the exact same shade of green of the gown she'd worn the day he'd chased her through the castle gardens.

She looked absolutely ravishing.

But he had to get her naked…_now_.

"Ah, ah, ah" she chastised as he took her hand to draw her along to his bedroom,

"Not in there Elijah"

Well, beds were preferable but when every breath seems to draw her one step closer to falling out of the corset he's willing to forgo soft surfaces.

Or any surface really.

She tugs on his hand and spins slowly underneath it, giving him an astounding view of the corset from the back and the ribbon that would undo everything.

Including him. 

She leads him purposefully through the Manor, down into the rarely used parlour on the ground floor. The heavy curtains cover the windows and a few lamps dotted across the room cast a golden glow. A long table that nobody remembers buying takes up a portion of the room before the antique couches and the fireplace which is aglow with flames.

"Here" she whispers, gripping his shirt in her hands and pressing her body against his, rubbing herself against him, "Elijah, my lord and love"

He bends down and grabs her thighs, pulling her up so that she can wrap her legs around his waist, they kiss with lips, tongue and teeth, determined to explore every inch of one another.

His hands are cupping and squeezing her bottom until she nods into their kiss and he rips away her panties and notices with a heartfelt prayer of thanks that her suspenders were still attached.

"Chair" she breaks the kiss with a gasp, "Let's start in the chair"

He can see beyond her curls and warm skin that there is a heavy, wooden chair at the side of the table, the only one in the room.

He walks them over to it as Katerina impatiently rids him of his tie and unbuttons his shirt, unable to remove his jacket while his arms are around her.

She settles for biting and sucking on his neck, nearly injuring them both when his knees go weak at the sensation.

It's more luck or survival instinct that lands them in the chair and not the floor.

He leans against the wooden backing as Katerina shifts to her knees and kisses him again, he bites her lip playfully and she hums, bringing his hand between her thighs to cup her and letting him feel how aroused she is.

The button for his trousers ends up somewhere across the room, embedded in the plaster, he reaches for her,

"My love" she sighs as she captures his hands and settles back on his knee,

"I've been thinking…"

She trails off and slips to the floor with a cheeky grin, she tugs down his pants to free his erection and he grips the arms of the chair in anticipation.

Katerina giggles in delight at the sight of his desire for her and kisses the tip of his penis before sliding her lips over the head and running her tongue around him slowly.

He swallows and fights to keep his control as she pulls back and resumes speaking,

"Why don't we go to Paris?"

_What?_

"For fashion week" she explains when she sees that his brain isn't firing on all cylinders at the moment, she runs a finger up and down the length of his penis,

"I do so love fashion week"

He really doesn't want to disappoint her when her finger is slipping into her mouth to taste him,

"Darling, we have discussed this, you know we can't leave the Quarter while the kingdom is still…_oh_"

Katerina had moved forward and taken him fully into her mouth, her lips slipping over every inch of him and humming as she sucked tantalizingly and her hands stroked his balls, but she pulled back seconds later,

"Fashion week Elijah" she murmured, "Paris in all its beauty, the culture, the joie de vivre, the Champs Elysees…me" she pushed her chest forward and her breasts were millimetres closer to spilling out of the corset, "Ever so happy and _grateful_ to be there"

He did love making her happy.

However, the kingdom was still being created, it needed its Prince and Princess.

"Next time" he promises but she sighs and rises gracefully to her feet,

"I had a feeling you would say that"

She takes a deliberate step back, her bare bottom touching the wooden table and she sits on it, her legs just parted so that he can see her,

"But, I have never once missed Fashion week and I don't intend to now"

He exhales and reaches for her…

He tries to reach for her anyway but is unable to move his arms.

He looks down at his hands and sees that they have been bound with rope, he pulls against them but he is bound tight.

Katerina chuckles and rests one heeled foot on each arm of the chair, baring herself to him and he casts a longing glance at her vagina where he can see how wet she already is with arousal and knows how easily he would slip inside her, how she would feel wrapped around him,

"I hope you don't value this chair my darling" he warns but she only shrugs, leaning her elbows on her thighs.

"That chair belonged to Henry VIII" she reveals tauntingly, "I know how much you respect antiques Elijah"

He glowers at her and she pouts, "Oh, don't be mad my lord and love, all you have to do is promise me that we'll go to Paris for this fashion week and then we can pick up right where we left off"

The lower part of his body is in full agreement with that plan but his brain- almost completely deprived of blood- decides now would be a good time to maintain his stubbornness.

Her heels are in reach of his fingertips, a good firm yank…

No, without his hands free he couldn't pull her safely into his arms, she could hit her head on the table or fall to the floor. He can't risk hurting her.

While he's trying to contemplate his escape, Katerina mistakes his lack of surrender as refusal,

"Elijah" she leans back on her hands, and runs her eyes over his erection, "God, I want you _so_ bad"

"Then come here my darling" he suggests but she shakes her head, her curls bouncing across her pushed up breasts,

"Not until you promise me Paris"

"Then we are at an impasse"

She smirks, "No, you my love are at an impasse…me…well…"

She lifts her right hand off the table and walks her fingers up her thigh, keeping her gaze locked with his,

"Katerina…" he growls, "Don't you dare"

Her light laughter ends with a gasp as she rubs her clit and a breathy moan as she pushes a finger inside her, "Oh…oh I'm so wet"

Elijah pulls against his restraints, "Katerina, stop that right…"

She ignores him, sliding back until she is lying on the table, "Oh that's better" she murmurs, pushing her hair out of the way and wriggling in a delightful way that makes his erection feel borderline painful.

"Keep talking Elijah" she begs as her fingers delve in and out and he can see everything from his position "Oh your voice does so _much_ for me"

Nothing compared to what he would do to her once he got free.

"Have I told you how hot you are when you don't shave, my love?" Katerina asks as her hand moves faster and her left hand slides down to play with her clit,

"This morning…when you went down on me on those white sheets and your stubble scratched my thigh, hmmm, just remembering it now…oh"

She finished with a nearly silent gasp and the scent overwhelmed him, he clenches his hands as her feet fall of the arms of the chair and dangle in front of him.

She is sated but he is hungry.

Flushed with pleasure she sits up and licks her lips, "Paris, Elijah?"

Every part of him is calling for her, "Come here" he orders as she juts out a hip, "I'm not hearing…"

"I will take you to Paris for the upcoming fashion week" he promises and she's bending over, her gorgeous bare buttocks in the air, resting her hands on his wrists as she takes his penis into her mouth, he nearly moans from the wondrous sensation and he has to fight not to come apart in seconds-

"How will we get there?" Katerina releases him to ask the question, before lowering her head again and flickering her tongue over his tip,

"First class" he guesses but she pulls back with a frown, "Fine, private jet"

She grins in approval and teases him with her tongue, lips and teeth until he explodes with a sigh of relief and she swallows every last drop. Before lifting her head to kiss him passionately, he slips his tongue into her mouth and brushes it against hers,

"Well, I think this calls for a celebration" she says as she breaks away, "I'm going to check the cellar for some French wine"

"Uh…Katerina my darling?" he calls as she sashays to the door leading to the room where admittedly they did keep the wine but also glass French doors leading out into the typically occupied courtyard,

"Yes my lord?"

She turns back, looking over her shoulder, still in the corset, suspenders, tights and heels, but nothing else and his brain is having trouble focusing on anything but her bare bottom right now,

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he pulls against the restraints but she shrugs, "I don't think so"

Her laughter trails her from the room.

* * *

_Half an hour earlier_

"Jesus Christ- _Again?_!"

Josh frowned as he approached the Manor, reaching the archway just as a crowd of vampires came the other way, one of them grabs him by the shoulder and walks him backwards,

"Okay" Troy announced, as they stopped on the street "Someone either has to speak to Klaus about getting his brother a chastity belt or finding us a new place to hang out"

Josh winced, "Ah, are they…?"

"Yep" one of the vampire's he hadn't been introduced to spoke up, "And they're not keeping it to the bedroom either…from the sound of things I'm guessing they're on the ground floor somewhere"

His eyebrows shot up, he figured that when two people are as hot as Elijah and Katherine that they don't care about flaunting their relationship but anyone could walk right into the ground floor and see them.

And then probably die because Elijah didn't really seem like the exhibitionist type.

His eyes settle on a waitress as she starts writing on the board out the front of her café, quickly crossing the road he borrows a piece of chalk from her bucket and hurries back,

"Okay" he puts his creative arts degree to use and draws a sock on the wall of the inner arch about the size of his arm,

"In lieu of an actual sock- that will have to do"

Joe claps him on the back, "That's all well and good for the horniest Prince and Princess since Henry IV but where the hell are we supposed to go?"

Josh shrugs, "Rousseau's?"

* * *

Katherine studied the wall of wines in front of her, trying to decide if she was in the mood for a Bordeaux or Sauvignon Blanc when a gentle breeze reminds her that she is standing half naked in an empty room. Grabbing the claret she spins on her heel and nearly drops the bottle.

Her lover is standing in front of her, barely an inch from her with rope still dangling from his left wrist,

"Elijah" she protests, "That chair was nearly as old as I am!"

"Henry VIII was a monster" he counters before hooking a finger in her suspender and drawing her closer, "Now…I promised that I would take you to Paris, but for the rest of the day" he leans around her and with a quick pull, the ribbon comes undone and her corset falls to the floor,

"For the rest of the day you are mine"

Hours later, Katerina is still wearing the tights and suspender but how they haven't been torn off are a mystery. She's lying on an expensive silk pale gold duvet in front of the now roaring fire, her legs wrapped around Elijah as he makes love to her, she arches her back as she climaxes and he whispers her name like a prayer as he finishes. She shifts over as he lays down beside her, ensuring that she is closer to the fire in this draughty house,

"Elijah" she teases out his name as he kisses her shoulder, "Yes my darling?"

"When we're in Paris…what do you about making love on the top of the Eiffel tower at night?"

* * *

A/N- Next update will be Paris


End file.
